Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire My Version
by Bhop360
Summary: Harry is starting his fourth year with a very pretty new transfer, an aunt who might not be as bad as she seems and the Triwizard Tournament. How will this year play out for the trio as they find new friends, enemies and breathtaking adventures.PLEASE R
1. A New Ally

A/N My version of the fourth Harry Potter book. I will do all of the books excluding the first three (the story didn't seem to get started till the fourth book so I'm leaving out the others). It will have the general outline of the fourth novel but there will be enough additional features to dramatically change the story. Enjoy! (Hopefully) ;)

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter or any other aspects of the series written by none other than J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 1: A New Ally

A small, raven-haired boy strode upon the newly paved sidewalk of Privet Drive. His green eyes shone brightly against his sunken face. He wore baggy jeans with a slightly patched up tee shirt that hung limply to the side, too big to stay straight upon the skeletal figure of the boy. Beneath the shirt, his skin was stretched across his bulging ribcage. His glasses were cracked in several places and his hair was strewn messily across his pale face, untamable. Large bangs fell across his forehead, effectively covering the latent lightning bolt shaped scar that appeared as he ran his hand through his hair.

Eyes downcast, Harry continued on until he reached the familiar grass of the park. Moving steadily forward, he headed for the nearest swing, not caring to look up due to his great sense of familiarity with the region. Sitting on the swing, he began to sway gently back and forth, allowing the wind to penetrate his shirt. He looked at the ground, thinking of how strange the past three years of his life had been. He thought of meeting Ron and Hermione and the Sorcerer's Stone. He thought of Ginny and the Chamber of Secrets, but most of all, he thought of Sirius, his recently discovered godfather. He had written to Sirius often in the few days since his return from school for his summer "vacation," filling him in on what had happened in the past few years. Sirius had become much like a father, friend and mentor to Harry. Harry had often thought of living with Sirius, as they had discussed the previous year, attempting to come up with ideas on what they would do now that Sirius was in hiding.

His deep thinking caused him to miss the movement behind the slide in before him. He even missed the sound of snickering voices, but fortunately there are some things that even the most unobservant people can't miss, such as the trembling of the ground as an ape charges, or the hair prickling on your neck as an enemy approaches you unawares. The event taking place was neither of these, though the cause of it did fairly resemble said ape, for the bulky form of Harry's cousin was descending upon him.

Feeling the swing begin to tremble, Harry immediately became alert. Looking up, he saw Dudley heading for him in full waddle (too slow for it to be called a sprint). Stopping the swing, he kicked at the ground in front of him, propelling himself backwards out of the slide and away from Dudley. Rolling to his feet he turned and ran in a single fluid motion. Having done so many times in the past, it was no wonder his movement looked like a well-practiced routine.

Running as fast as he could, Harry took off down the street, not realizing that he'd taken the wrong route until it was too late. Instead of being able to take off through the various alleyways that he knew so well with to lose his pursuers, he avoided them at all cost, not knowing which ones were safe to enter. He simply had to outrun Dudley's gang or have his face pummeled in. That thought seemed to give him an extra boost of energy as he ran faster in his desperate attempt to escape Dudley and his goons.

Tearing through the streets as fast as his legs could go, he tried to block out the sound of their voices taunting him. He was beginning to tire and his legs felt as if they were gaining weight as he went, but he wasn't going to give up so easily, and he pressed his legs harder. Rounding a familiar pair of houses at the end of the street, he turned towards the Dursley's house, the closest to a safe haven he could think of despite the hatred felt towards him by each resident. Soon, the footsteps of his pursuers followed, pounding the earth in an attempt to catch him. Turning to see how close they were, Harry noticed that there were fewer of them than when they started. Deciding that they must have tired and dropped out of the chase, he continued without giving them much thought.

He soon found out what had really happened to the missing members of the gang. A shout came from his right along with a bustling of feet. Harry turned to see the cause of the commotion only to see two of Dudley's friends hopping a fence that would put them directly in front of his escape route.

Seeing that he had no choice but to stand and fight, he looked his attackers up and down to see whom he held the most chance in taking down. One was of a build much like Harry's though slightly more muscular. The other seemed to resemble Dudley in size and speed, as he was lagging far behind the other. Harry's decision was quick and he spun smoothly on his heel to face the smaller opponent, thrusting his fist into the boy's face and dropping him instantly. His victory was short-lived though, as the boy's partner reached him.

He clumsily swung out at Harry's head, nearly falling over as he did so. Harry, having picked up a few boxing techniques from dodging his cousin's attacks when they were younger, ducked below the punch and brought his fist up to hit the boy squarely in the jaw. The look of surprise on the boy's face had barely registered before Harry hit him in his stomach with a quick kick.

The boy slumped to the ground and Harry turned towards the rest of the group to ready himself against further attack. Panting slightly, he shifted his weight having learned that it was best to fight from this position after numerous brawls with Dudley. There were still three goons left, not including Dudley. Had Harry not been so tire, he would have realized that there had been four when he had last looked back.

Dudley and his two friends stopped a few yards in front of him as if waiting for something. As Harry caught his breath, he realized that the last man was missing and started to search for the sneak before catching himself. Pretending not to notice the lack of members in Dudley's gang, Harry began to plan his assault. Figuring that the boy would try to take him from behind, he readied himself for the attack.

Hearing a light footstep directly behind him, he spun on the spot and kicked towards the sound. He felt his foot connect and tried to bring it back down, only to feel his leg lifted higher as he hurtled through the air. The boy had seen the kick coming and had blocked it, effectively throwing Harry off balance. Harry lay there for a moment, dazed, before a shadow crossed over his path. Dudley's face loomed dangerously above him, breathing in quick gasps. Despite his hard breathing, Dudley was smiling as he raised his fist, waiting for moment before bringing it down.

"Stop!" called a girl's voice seconds before impact. Dudley replied by jerkily stopping his hand and turning to look at Harry's savior, causing him to stumble over Harry's body. Harry scrambled to his feet, shaken from the close call, and searched for the source of the voice. When he located her, he nearly fell again at the sight of her. She had chestnut brown hair that flowed like water down her back, along with light blue eyes that seemed to transform into lightning at her apparent anger with Dudley. Her face was smooth and her body pleasantly curved. She wore a miniature pair of shorts that left little to the imagination and a tight-fitting shirt at least two sizes too small. Harry stood there gawking at her for a moment before he regained his senses and straightened himself.

"Err…thanks," was about all that he could muster before he heard snickering behind him. Dudley had regained his footing and was standing among the ranks of his gang, smirking at Harry.

"Look at itty bitty Potter and his girlfriend, can't even fight for himself; has to have a girl come to his rescue." The boys roared with laughter.

"He's got to be better than you," the girl replied with disdain. "You need six people to take out a guy who probably weighs a fourth as much as you do. Now if you don't want me to call the police on your sorry arses then you'd best get out of my sight before the count of ten." Dudley laughed, unbelieving. "One..." She tapped her foot impatiently. "Two..." She crossed her arms. "Three..." She narrowed her eyes. "Four..." She pulled out her cell phone. "Five..." Dudley began to get nervous. "Six..." She opened her cell phone case. "Seven..." She dialed the number. "Eight..." and with that Dudley was off, tearing down the street as fast as he could, his gang close behind him. The girl rolled her eyes and angrily pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Showing Harry her cell phone, he saw, to his great amusement, that it was completely dead.

He stood there for a few moments, not knowing what to say. "Well, you could thank me," the girl said, breaking the awkward silence. Harry shuffled about in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I've never been too good at thanking people, never really tried before, but...er...thanks, I guess." The girl laughed at his mediocre attempt.

"That's a start...I guess," she laughed. "But, there's no need to thank me anyway. I've seen that fat oaf chase you around countless times and now I'm just glad I did something about it, though you did get off to a good start. Those two boys never knew what hit 'em, and that last boy, even though he knocked you down, he still flew a good ways." When Harry still didn't speak, she looked at him strangely and began to turn, "Well...I guess I'll be going then."

"Wait!" Harry exclaimed as he grabbed her arm. She turned to look at him and he lost his words again, not being able to look straight into her eyes. "I mean...er, seeing as I suck at apologies, I thought I might walk you home instead." She looked at him uncertainly for a moment before consenting, warning him that she lived a good ways away as they set off.

"I'm Harry, by the way, Harry Potter." He stuck his hand out in greeting as he smiled at her. A strange look flashed in her eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come as she shook his hand.

"Estella Adalmund."

"So why are you all the way down here anyway?"

"I dunno, just like walking around. I'm fairly new to this neighborhood and I like learning my way around I guess."

"Well it's your lucky day then," Harry said, smiling brightly. "I know this place like the back of my hand, unfortunately."

"Why unfortunately?" she asked curiously. "Do you not like it here?"

"Well…it's not necessarily the neighborhood or the neighbors, but I live with my Aunt and Uncle and they suck. And my cousin, well…you met him.

She stared at him in confusion for a second realization struck her. "That fat ape is you cousin? Wow, that does suck," she responded. "But what about your parents, where are they?"

Harry shuffled his feet nervously, looking at the ground. "They…um…they died in an accident when I was a child," he said, fighting with the look of grief etched on his face.

"Oh!" she said in surprise, throwing her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, but I know how you feel. My parents are gone too." Harry's eyes shot up at this, looking shocked.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he said, looking guilty.

"It's ok, I'd say I'm better off than you anyway." Harry looked at her in confusion at this. "Well what I mean is, at least I have my brother. We've taken care of each other." She said this with a smile, looking off as if remembering a happy thought.

"Yeah," Harry said dreamily, "must be nice." _Maybe I can have something like that now that I know Sirius._ They continued on in silence for a while after this. Harry tried looking at the ground but found that they kept wandering over to Estella's legs. The last time, she caught him, deciding to tease him.

"Yes those are my legs," she said, grinning at him knowingly, her eyes twinkling with a brightness to match Dumbledore. Harry jumped at this and his eyes shot up to her face, blushing furiously.

"Well th-they are very nice legs," he said when he managed to control himself. "Guess I just couldn't help it." Her smile faltered at this as she blushed but she played along.

"You know how it is with beautiful girls like me, have to keep myself up." Harry laughed at this while thinking she was definitely right about the beautiful girl part. "Well this is it," she said suddenly. "Home sweet home."

"Well, I guess I'll see you around then," Harry said somewhat disappointed. "Oh! I almost forgot. Are you up for that tour tomorrow? We can talk about your legs some more," he added with a smile.

"I'd like that. Meet you here tomorrow at around sixish then?" Harry nodded in agreement. "Cool. See you then!" With that she rushed inside, leaving an excited Harry to stare up at her doorway.

When Harry made his way back to the Dursley's it was already half past six. Knowing that he'd be in for an unpleasant night, Harry slowly inched his way towards the door, attempting to postpone his punishment. As he was reaching the door it flew open and his seeker reflexes shot in immediately jumping back out of the way as he felt the wind slice through the area he'd previously been standing in. The open entrance revealed a red-faced Uncle Vernon standing there panting as if he'd just run a kilometer, although it was probably just the 10 meters from the couch to the door.

Vernon's roaring voice interrupted this train of thought as Vernon let out his anger. "WHERE…HAVE…YOU…BEEN?" he bellowed angrily. Harry opened his mouth to reply but was cut off abruptly. "Petunia had to cook dinner on her own today because of your sorry arse now answer my bloody question. Where _were _you?"

Harry heard a dangerous edge in his voice as he squeaked out, "I-I was just taking a walk around the neighborhood. I didn't think I'd been out long."

You didn't think…you didn't think you'd been out long!" Vernon spluttered in his anger. "It's been three bloody hours. What were you doing all that time?" Vernon's eyes narrowed as he looked at him suspiciously. Harry simply stared back at him in surprise. He hadn't been out all that time had he? He supposed he had been walking extremely slowly with Estella to lengthen the walk and he had purposely wandered on his way back home but it hadn't seemed like nearly three hours. "Well?" Vernon asked again. "What have you been doing?" His eyes got that suspicious glint in them again. "You weren't doing…" he looked around as if to check if anyone was around before continuing quietly, "you weren't doing you-know-what where you? I hope you were so those freaky friends of yours will come and take you to that prison where you belong." Vernon began to get angry again although this time there was a hint of glee in his eyes.

"No! Of course not. I told you I was just taking a walk around; I didn't think I'd been out for very long until I saw the sun going down.

"Humph." Vernon seemed to let the subject go although he still didn't seem satisfied. This unnerved Harry as he had been expecting his Uncle to hit him or to resort to violence. "No matter. You're ungratefulness and disobedience has finally pushed me over the edge. It's about time that you started lifting you're weight and began earning you're stay here." Harry nearly snorted in disbelief at that, knowing full well that he did more work than the three Dursley's combined. "I have come to an agreement with your aunt's cousin, Helen Stowes. I believe that you remember her from the last visit?" Vernon said this with a sneer. Of course Harry remembered her, she had come by when he was nine and had forced him to work so hard that he'd fainted from exhaustion and then she'd locked him in the cupboard under the stairs, accusing him of being lazy.

"Helen has decided to allow you to work at her dance studio as a janitor because she's a little short-handed." Harry had a feeling that her lack of work force was a result of her cruelness. "You will be paid 20 pounds every day for five days a week, which you will give to us, of course. Your shift starts at 8:00 A.M. and if you are late there will be severe punishments. Now retire to your cell...er...I mean room. There will be no food for you today." As Harry set off up the stairs, he chuckled to himself at Vernon's last remark. He had received an extensive supply of food from Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and even Ginny over the summer.

As his door creaked open, he noticed several feathers lying on his bed and smiled, realizing that Hedwig had returned from the Weasley's.

"Hey, girl, how are you?" he asked, not looking at her cage. He was not prepared, however, for the answer that he received.

"I'm fine, but last time I checked I was still male." Harry nearly shrieked in surprise as he jumped off his bed, searching for his wand. Turning towards the intruder, his eyes almost popped out in recognition.

"Sirius! W-what are you doing here I thought you were supposed to be in hiding? How did you get here and what if you get caught?" Sirius silenced Harry with a finger to his lips but a million questions still roamed through his head. Sirius was dressed in a black cloak and black gloves, all of which Harry could tell were too big for him. The good news was that he looked a lot less pale than before and had apparently been eating a lot more.

"Now you must be wondering how and why I'm here. Well, truthfully, I'm not supposed to be here. I snuck out of the hideout to check up on you and tell you a few bits of information that I don't want going through the mail." Harry seemed shocked, confused and concerned at this. "Seeing as I'm your godfather I have several responsibilities to take care of, but because of my incarceration, I cannot follow through with many of these, which is why I had to tell you myself to warn you. You must know that you possess a very large sum of money right now. Well, the money in your current vault is only the money that you parents left you for your childhood, in the case of their death. There is actually quite a bit more and you will be receiving it when you turn 14. Many people will try to manipulate you-"

"Manipulate me? Why would they do that?"

"Well, you see... when you receive the rest of your fortune, I have no doubt that, due to numerous large contributions throughout the years, you will be the wealthiest wizard or man alive." Sirius paused at this, allowing the news to sink in. Harry's countenance portrayed surprise and disbelief, but most of all anger and annoyance.

"Why wasn't I told this before? Why is it that I find that I'm, money-wise, the most powerful man in the world? I'm only 14 bloody years old for crying out loud." Sirius winced at the language, but looked on his godson in what seemed to be pride, of all things.

"Well I was wondering the same thing when I received this information from Dumbledore. He said that not even he knew, because of his lack of blood ties to you. He was only informed yesterday morning because he is your guardian, and he passed the news on to me." Harry pondered this for a moment, before eventually speaking his mind.

"So how much money are we speaking of here?" Harry asked, still slightly annoyed, yet curious all the same.

"About...umm," Sirius coughed slightly, "12 billion galleons, which, seeing as a galleon equals 5 pounds, would be around 60 billion pounds in muggle currency." The color drained from Harry's face and his eyes turned the size of saucers as his legs began to wobble. Harry had known his parents were rich and well known but to be the richest in the world was beyond him. How could he have not known this? As if sensing his question, Sirius answered him. "You're parents didn't want to have to deal with all of the press and the scandals from their fortune so they kept it under wraps. I figured that James was rich from the fact that he always got the newest and best brooms at least a week before they were released, claiming that they were only prototypes that he got to test because his father owned the majority of the broomstick stock."

"What stock?" Harry exclaimed surprise etched in his face. "I never knew my family owned any stock."

"Oh yeah. Your family probably has more stock than the government." Sirius said this with a bit of glee, apparently happy at the thought of annoying some rich government official. "There's a list in Dumbledore's office with all of the major stocks your family has, and just to warn you, it is 5 pages of parchment." Harry sighed in resignation, knowing this would only bring more unwanted fame but deciding not to fret about the uncontrollable.

"So what exactly does this all mean?" he asked cautiously, fearful of more surprises.

"Well you'll have to partake in a hearing to go over the particulars and to ensure that the money is being placed in good hands, but other than that there is not much left about the subject." Harry sighed in relief, thankful that there was nothing more to it.

Sirius suddenly began fidgeting and his face turned to a more serious outlook as if he were preparing for some task. "Unfortunately that is not the only reason that I came to see you today. As I said, I am your godfather and due to your parent's absence, several responsibilities fall upon my shoulders. I'm sure that soon enough, if you haven't already, you'll start thinking of dating." Harry could see why his godfather had become so nervous as he soon became embarrassed himself as he remembered his friends talk about the embarrassing situations in which their parents had given them the Talk. "Well, there are certain…activities, which you may wish to pursue which require both yourself and a female that you might not be ready for and I'm here to tell you that you should wait until you're married." Sirius looked exhausted at this short speech that Harry didn't think would help him at all if he was caught in the predicament that Sirius spoke of.

"But Sirius, you're not married and I know that you must have…you know…" Harry nearly choked as he held in his laughter from watching at his godfather's reaction to this. Sirius seemed caught between looking proud and accepting the fact and being the good role model and denying everything Harry had said.

"Oh all right. All say what I really want to say and get it over with. Use protection and don't get anyone pregnant, but don't start too early." Harry was shell-shocked. He clearly hadn't expected such an answer from Sirius and simply stared at him in silence for a minute.

"Umm…er…ok. Is that everything?" he asked, still uncomfortable from Sirius' sad attempt at parental advice and desperately attempting to change the subject.

"Well I just wanted to check up on you, you know, to see how things have been at the prison, I mean Dursley's. Seeing as, well, I haven't really been there for you for all this time, I guess I must have missed out on a lot and I need to catch up a little I guess." Sirius was looking him with a pleading look, praying that he would understand. He looked so much like a pouting dog that reminded Harry so much of his previous canine form that Harry couldn't help but let out a short laugh. Seeing Sirius's look of annoyance at this seemingly blatant show of disrespect made Harry regret his actions as he quickly apologized.

"Well, to put it shortly, life here sucks and when I learned that I was a wizard and was going to be leaving here every year to go to school I nearly shat my pants in excitement." Now it was Sirius's turn to chuckle at his godson's choice in language.

"I know what you mean. My parents were some of the darkest of wizards to set foot on our country, so when I got the chance to split, I jumped at the chance."

Harry was shocked at this new revelation, awed that a man who was born into a dark family and who spent nearly 14 years in Azkaban could have any heart left in him at all. "So they...er...they served Voldemort then, right?"

Sirius's face turned grim at this and his countenance darkened as he fisted his shirt tightly. "Yes, they were some of the worst, and they always brought back stories of their latest _accomplishments_. My family idolized them as if they were gods so I had to follow suit so not to attract any attention to my dislike of the dark arts."

Harry nodded unconsciously as he was thinking on his next subject for conversation. He knew that he was touching on a sensitive subject but couldn't refrain himself from speaking. "I want to know about my parents; you know...before the war. I want to know what they were like and what they did for a living, but not just that. I want to know the little things like their favorite colors, what they did for fun, what they did for a living. I mean, I never even knew them and sometimes I feel like other people know more about them than their own son." Unshed tears had formed in Harry's eyes and he furiously blinked them away, ashamed to be crying in front of Sirius like this.

"It's okay to cry sometimes Harry." Sirius said comfortingly. "I learned the hard way that trying to hold in the emotions I am feeling only serves to make them worse as time goes on." At this Harry dug his face into his godfather's shoulder crying softly as Sirius comforted him. When he stopped crying Sirius pulled out his wand and cleaned the dried tears from his face and clothes, smiling sadly at him. "I understand how you're feeling Harry, and I would be honored to tell you about your parents. However, that will have to wait until tomorrow, because I'm not sure that your parents would be happy that I kept you up so late." Harry nodded silently, still slightly ashamed at his outburst. Giving Harry a last fatherly hug and smile, he climbed through the window and entered an alleyway before disapparating with a crack that could be heard from Harry's window.

Sighing heavily, Harry leaned back onto his bed, thinking of how crazy a day he'd just had, not including his Hogwarts experiences of course. He frowned at the thought of his new job that started the next day, wondering what he would have to do. He smiled, however, when he thought of the pretty girl who'd be waiting for a tour when he got back. He had already decided he'd have to sneak out after dinner and rush back afterwards so as not to be late for his meeting with Sirius. Closing his eyes, he began to dream of a certain chestnut haired girl with light blue eyes and a smile crept on his face.


	2. An Unexpected Twist

A/N Thanks to Hurricane Rachel for my first review ever! Please review and tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter or any other aspects of the series written by none other than J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 2: An Unexpected Twist

Bright lights glared through the windows as the morning dew settled in the grass. A restless Harry attempted to shield his eyes with a raggedy blanket to no avail. Eyes heavy with sleep, he sat up in his bed and forced them open, searching for his clock. His eyes widened and he did a double take as he saw the time.

"It's 7 bloody o'clock!" he shouted, now fully awake. Ruddy uncle, he thought to himself, not wanting to risk being heard. He must've turned off my alarm clock, hoping to get me in trouble for being late on my first day. Sure enough, when he checked the back of the clock for the alarm switch, it had been turned off. I'll show him, Harry thought as he rushed to his dresser, pulling out a pair of shorts, a tee-shirt, undersized socks and his worn shoes.

Rushing to the hallway bathroom, he took a quick shower and changed in record time, being sure to make as little sound as possible. Footsteps shook the house as Vernon ascended the stairs, no doubt anxious to find Harry sleeping. Knowing Uncle Vernon's motive, he picked up a book and rushed to his bed, diving onto the mattress just as the door to his room flung open.

"BOY, WHAT ARE YOU –" Vernon stopped suddenly as he realized that Harry was not sleeping, as he had hoped, but reading a novel. "Wha-how…" Vernon was unable to speak clearly as Harry smiled up at him innocently. "Never mind then," Vernon gruffly, collecting himself while still glaring at Harry. "You've missed breakfast anyway, it's time to go. Hurry up and get to the car." With this, he left abruptly, slamming the door behind him. Harry, who'd forgotten entirely about breakfast, rushed to his hidden food storage spot in the floorboard beneath his bed and pulled out several wrapped items, stuffing them into his liter sized pockets.

He walked up to an irate Uncle Vernon, passing Aunt Petunia knitting a few socks for Vernon and Dudley due to the store socks being too small for their football sized feet. Dudley was, as usual, watching TV and complaining about the diet the school nurse had put him on.

Harry was forcefully shoved out the door and told to get in Vernon's new BMW work car. The drive to the dance studio was a 15 minute drive and Harry settled in, watching the streaks of passing cars going to their various destinations, none of which Harry believed could be as depressing as his.

They pulled up to an immense building that looked more like a college campus than a dance school. Harry looked around in awe, having never before seen the studio other than a few quick glimpses at photos his Aunt Helen had brought by the house to show off.

Harry's feelings towards the building dropped instantly as he entered through the double doors to come face to face with Aunt Helen. She wasn't necessarily an unattractive woman when you considered her age. She had black hair and the dancing lessons she gave must have kept her healthy for she was nothing like Aunt Marge, but neither was she as minuscule as Aunt Petunia. The repugnant look on her face, however, made her seem much less appealing as she regarded Harry as if he were a drop of dung on her shoe.

"Potter," she said, addressing him in much the same way that Snape did when Harry entered his class.

"Nice to see you too, Aunt Helen," Harry lied grudgingly through his gritted teeth, not wanting to annoy her further. She sniffed at his response and snapped her fingers at him like a dog, shooing him from the door to allow Vernon to enter.

"Oh, my dear Vernon!" she exclaimed as his struggled to fit his wide frame through the entrance. "How have you been? Is Petunia treating you all right?" Vernon finally settled on standing outside, not wanting to risk getting stuck in the doorway.

"Ruddy door," he said, as if it had something against him and was purposely keeping him out. "I'm doing fine," he told Helen, turning his attention to her. "Just dropping the boy off for work and I'll be off."

"Good, good. Well I'll just get the Potter boy started on his work then," she replied airily, as if Harry was not standing directly in front of her. "Wouldn't want to keep you from your job. Tah-tah!"

With that she turned, snapping her fingers at Harry and motioning for him to follow. She pointed at a broom and a mop and he picked them up while Uncle Vernon grinned wickedly at Harry as he watched the exchange in delight. After a few moments of sweeping the floor under Aunt Helen's watchful eye, Vernon finally seemed to bore and left. Aunt Helen suddenly motioned for Harry to stop and she put an ear to the door. An engine started and the sound of tires driving away on the road faded away as Uncle Vernon left.

"Finally he's gone," she said suddenly, the strict tone gone from her voice. "I thought he was going to stand there and watch you all day." Harry continued to stare at her in shock, unsure of what was going on.

Suddenly, Helen rushed to him and flung her arms around his neck, giving him a tight hug, hard enough to rival Hagrid, and Harry thought for a second that she might he trying to break his ribs.

"Oh, Harry," she said, pulling herself from him and looking at him with soft, caring eyes, a tremendous change from a few minutes ago. "I've been so cruel to you. I'm so sorry about that, there was just no way to tell you what was going on." Harry was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with her as she was speaking a mile a minute and making little sense to him.

"Err…what exactly is going on," he said, letting his confusion get the better of him.

"All these years, I've had to pretend that I loathed you just as much as Petunia or Vernon. I'm so sorry for that Harry. Here, let's sit down and I'll explain everything." She motioned him to a couple of comfortable looking chairs and they sat down.

"Well, you see, your mother and I were great friends, both being witches and all."

"Wait...what!" Harry exclaimed, his shock evident on his face. "You're a-a witch." Harry stared at her, feeling a mixture of surprise and wonder at this new revelation.

"Yes, Harry. I am indeed a witch," she said, smiling knowingly at him, eyes shining. "Your mother and I shared a dormitory at Hogwarts and we became great friends. We hadn't had anything in common before and never caught on until we got our letters. So anyway, we were great friends at Hogwarts and we stayed that way even afterwards. We did everything together, except when she began dating your father, of course. After school, I decided that none of the jobs in the magical world really suited me, but I have always and still love to dance so I started teaching. I wanted dearly to open a school of my own so when your mother heard of my idea she decided to help me out. I had a plan set out for what the school would look like and where it would be built, but I knew I would never be able to fund the production of it. When Lily decided to help me she went straight to James and told him of my plans and he went to Gringotts and casually removed a few million pounds worth of galleons and dropped the check into my hand. Naturally I told him I couldn't accept the money but he said simply that, being an Unspeakable, which I'll tell you about soon, all I needed to do was look after you in the event that something happened to Lily or him. Oh and he asked for some additions to be made as well. That money started me off and here I am with this gorgeous building." Helen stopped for a moment at this to take a look around.

"So you knew my parents really well then?" Harry asked, still feeling awkward speaking to a woman who had previously seemed to loathe him. Helen nodded and smiled slightly. "Well then why have you always acted so maliciously towards me?"

"Well you see, I made the promise to look after you but to do so would mean that I needed to check on you personally every once in a while. Petunia disliked me just as much as Lily at one time, calling me a freak as well. After your parents were killed," She said this with a slight grimace and her eyes turned gloomy, "I decided to pretend to hate magic as well. I told Petunia that I started this school because I hated the wizarding world and wanted to be normal. She really warmed up to me at that point, which allowed me to visit you when I needed to, as well as finding out what was going on with you at the time. Unfortunately, this privilege also came at the price of acting as if you meant nothing to me, and it truly pained me to see how the Dursley's' treated you, seeing the scars from previous beatings and being able to do nothing about it. Can you forgive me for my actions?" She had a pleading look that begged of him to understand her predicament.

Harry nodded slowly, taking in the information. As he thought back, this information cleared up a few instances in which Harry felt Aunt Helen was only pretending to punish him, and sometimes she would get a look in her eye that made him feel as if she truly cared about him, but those occurrences were so seldom that they were forgotten quickly as she returned to her typical conduct.

They continued to sit there in silence for a moment, Harry in quiet contemplation, and Helen in hopeful anxiety. Harry abruptly looked up at her, a smile playing on his lips.

"I forgive you," he said warmly, enveloping her in a hug. "After all, according to Sir-I mean Remus, my mum probably would have thrown a fit if she found out that I didn't. I heard she had quite a temper." Harry tried to picture his mother in a fury such as those of Mrs. Weasley and chuckled slightly.

"Yes, Remus was indeed telling the truth. I always hated to make her mad at me. Well, now that we have that cleared up, time to get busy." She stood and motioned a suddenly crestfallen Harry to follow.

"Wait, you mean even after all of that I still have to work here?" Harry asked, sounding surprised as well as angry.

Smiling mysteriously, Helen shook her head, "Not exactly, my dear, not exactly." Harry raised an eyebrow at this but followed in silence. The news that he wasn't here to serve a psychotic aunt gave him relief and allowed him to take in the scenery. White pillars held up the magnificent building, giving the building a feeling of grandeur. Paintings of dances and art filled the hallways and Harry looked at them all, awed by the beauty of his surroundings. Aunt Helen took many turns and Harry realized that he would have to ask for a map if he wanted to be able to find his way through the studio without becoming lost.

Helen stopped suddenly, almost causing Harry to collide into her. She opened a magnificent oak door and walked into a room much like the dining rooms Harry had seen in movies that portrayed the castles of kings and queens. An enormous table filled the center with lavish chairs surrounding it. More paintings lined the wooden walls and a titanic chandelier hung from the ceiling that looked as if it were made from real diamonds. The most magnificent of all, however, was not the decorative setting, rather the feast that lay upon the table. Resting upon the table were assortments of meats, creams, sides, desserts and, if Harry's eyes didn't fail him, a roasted boar sitting in the center.

"We teach our students proper etiquette here when they learn ballroom dancing. I believe that if you must learn how to eat properly then you should dine on the finest." Harry clearly agreed as he unconsciously licked the drool from his lips, nodding avidly. "Sadly I cannot let you eat anything at the moment. This is for dinner, and the repelling charms I have placed on them will not permit you to pass within 3 feet of the food." At this Harry turned away sadly, unable to look at such delicious food without attempting to reach for it.

Helen walked around the table and into another room that, from the glimpse that Harry had seen through the door she had entered, looked to be a kitchen. A few seconds later, she returned with 2 butterbeers and a few sandwiches, three of which she handed to Harry. While seemed a pittance compared to the feast before them, Harry couldn't deny that the combination of butterbeer with a full stomach was highly satisfying.

When they finished their lunches, Helen waved her wand and the crumbs disappeared. This small display of magic caused Harry to jump slightly, for he was still unused to Aunt Helen being anything more than a strict and overbearing muggle.

Rising from her seat, Helen signaled for Harry to follow her and they returned to the maze of hallways. "I have to teach a dance lesson soon so I will drop you off in the library until I'm ready to bring you to your lessons."

"Lessons?" Harry blurted out in confusion. "You mean I'll be learning how to dance? I can't dance worth two pence. I'll make a complete fool of myself." Harry pleaded with her to tell him she hadn't meant what she'd said.

"There's more to it than that," she said refusing to give further explanation until she could show him. Once again, she stopped at a large oak door similar to the one that led to the dining room.

As he entered, Harry found himself surrounded by books. He found old books, new books, original copies, and even unpublished manuscripts. The books in this room would have brought a fortune even at a pawn shop, and if sold to a true antique dealer the money earned would be enough to comfortably sustain someone for life. A sliding ladder was stationed on the right side of the room to reach the higher shelves and several very comfortable looking reclining chairs dotted the room along with a couch in one corner.

Regardless of the splendor of the room, Harry still grimaced as he thought of having to spend an hour or so reading books. Hermione would be proud just finding me in a library, but reading the books for anything other than schoolwork, that's a bit of a stretch. Helen must have seen his look for she patted his shoulder patronizingly and laughed softly.

"Books really aren't so bad, you'd be surprised at how appealing they can be. Besides," She said as an afterthought, "you might find more than just books in here." A secretive glint shone in her eyes before she turned, heading towards her lesson.

Pondering what she had meant, he gave a slight start as a fireplace burst into flame, warming the slightly chilly room. Deciding that he had nothing better to do, he walked to one of the shelves where the books didn't look as if they would crumble at the slightest touch. Picking up an interesting looking book with a pair of crossed wands on the cover, he plopped down on a chair, feeling himself sliding into the soft cushion.

"The Mystery of the Unspeakables," he said, reading the title aloud. This could tell me a little about my parents, Aunt Helen did say they were Unspeakables. With a new inquisitiveness, he opened the book and began to read. The novel turned out to be a series of hypotheses on the true occupation of Unspeakables rather than factual information, yet Harry was interested all the same and quickly immersed himself in the book, thinking, Maybe reading isn't so bad after all. Better not tell Mione though, she'd have a bloody field day.

His reverie was suddenly broken by a soft voice at the doorway. "Harry?" Jumping slightly, Harry looked hastily at the entrance, nearly dropping his book as he did so. A look of utter bewilderment flashed on his face as he saw who it was.

"Estella? What are you doing here?" He asked, the surprise etched on his countenance.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, her expression mirroring his. "No wonder Helen wanted me to go to the library, she normally tells me I stay in here too long."

"So you know Aunt Helen too?"

"Aunt? You two are related then? Wow, what a coincidence. Is that why you're here or are you taking lessons?"

"Well it's complicated. Apparently I was supposed to be working here but instead she told me that we were related and I had lunch in an amazing dining room. She said that she has a lesson right now so after that she will pick me up for my lessons but she wouldn't elaborate so here I am, waiting for her to get back."

"That is complicated," Estella said with a laugh. "I'm here because I used to take lessons here and when my parents died Helen agreed to watch me while my brother worked. She even let me continue my lessons for free. Most of the time I'm in here reading until my lesson starts, which will be in about an hour."

"So how long have you been dancing?" Harry asked, suddenly curious.

"Well, I've been dancing my whole life really. I started off with ballet and now I'm doing dance and manners. I've been looking for a partner for a while now though, all of the others dropped out. If I don't find one soon I'll have to switch back to ballet which is fine, but I really wanted to learn to dance in more ways than just for performances." She said this last but with a pleading look, as if she were asking him for something, but Harry, in his thickness, didn't catch on.

"Why did they drop out?" he asked, oblivious to her unstated yet obvious plea for him to dance with her.

Sighing slightly with a disappointed look in her eye, she answered resignedly, "They said that dancing was for girls, but really they were just mad that they couldn't move quickly enough. Their reflexes weren't sharp enough to be able to guide and correct errors while they dance and often stumbled over their feet."

"I can't dance at all," Harry confided. "I've never danced in my life." Estella's eyes widened in shock at his confession.

"You've never danced? Not even at a party or for fun?" Harry shook his head glumly.

"I've never been to a dance or party, and I've never had any reason to learn to dance. Doesn't seem very fun anyway." At this, Estella a wicked smile crept on Estella's face. "What?" Harry asked, slightly disconcerted by her expression.

Suddenly she grabbed his right hand and placed it on her hip. "Well I think it's about time we fixed your dancing predicament," she explained as he attempted to remove his hand.

"No, really, that's not necessary. I think I'll be fine without dancing," Pulling away harder, She tightened her grip until he relented. "Fine," he said in resigned consent, but one dance and one dance only."

"Good," she said, although the glint in her eyes made it evident that she wouldn't settle for merely one dance. "So your right hand stays there," she said as he tried to move it up, uncomfortable with having to keep his hand so low, "and your left hand holds mine like this." She carefully moved their hands into position so that their hands were united in a "Y" shape. "There we are, but you are much too far away." She said this with sounded to Harry to be a hint of glee as she abridged the distance between them.

Her face only a few inches away, Harry began to become very conscious of his hands. "Err…a-aren't we a l-little closer than the pictures?" He asked nervously, remembering the paintings he had passed in the hallways.

Estella smiled conspiratorially, "Just a little, but I figured this would help." No it definitely isn't helping, Harry thought as his hands began to sweat from his nervousness. How am I supposed to concentrate with her this close? As if reading his mind, she shuffled a little closer, though Harry couldn't see how this was possible, and giggled slightly. "Now," she began, speaking in an instructing manner, "move where I move. Normally the male leads but seeing as you are absolutely clueless I'll just have to do it myself."

"I am not clu-" Harry began to retort before catching himself. I really am clueless so I'd best not say anything or she'll probably find another way to make this even more embarrassing.

Estella began guiding Harry around the room, showing him where and how to place his feet. Slowly, Harry began to relax and enjoy the dancing. The two continued to glide around the room with a few mishaps, but generally, the dancing went smoothly. However, as soon as he began thinking he'd gotten the hang of the dance Estella came up with something new.

"I'm going to show you the classic tango dip," she said with a slight smile. Harry turned slightly pale at this, for he'd seen pictures of dips in the hallways and feared that he would drop her.

"Are you sure that's a good idea," he questioned uncertainly. "What if you fall?"

"I have complete trust in your ability to hold me up. Besides, I chose this dip because I can hold myself up even if you can't. Oh, and it's a little more fun than the regular dip." Harry didn't like the sound of that, but decided that maybe, like the rest of the dancing, it would be more fun after a little experience.

"Now," she continued, "Take one side step to the left but make sure your right foot stays pointed. Don't turn it or you will fall. Good," she said encouragingly as he followed her instructions carefully. "Now turn your shoulders to the left and extend your right arm to dip me." Harry did as he was told and suddenly found that the dip wasn't as hard as he had thought.

As soon as he thought this however, Estella slid her right leg up Harry's thigh, creating a very compromising situation for him. Looking down at her, he found that she was wearing an impish smile and he couldn't help but notice her chest. Feeling himself flush, he determined by how warm he suddenly felt that he had gone beet red in the face. Looking quickly away, he nearly dropped her in his haste.

"Hem-hem." The sound of someone clearing their throat shocked Harry enough that he really did let go of Estella. True to her word, she managed to hold herself up, though Harry assisted her to her feet, apologizing profusely. "Hem-hem." The woman at the door cleared her throat again and Harry turned red again as he saw who it was.

"Aunt Helen!" Harry exclaimed, surprised to see her back. "Is it time to go already?" Looking at the clock he realized he must have been dancing for an hour with Estella and hadn't noticed the time fly by.

"Call me Helen, Harry. And yes it is time for your lesson. I see you and Estella have met." She said this with a smile much like the one Estella had given him moments before. Looking over at Estella, however, he noticed that her sense of humor and mischief had gone completely as she now looked identical to him in her embarrassment.

"Err…yeah, we've met before. She lives in my neighborhood and I've promised to give her a tour so she can get more familiar with it." This new information brought a genuine look of shock to Helen as she looked back and forth between Harry and Estella before her smile returned.

"Well this works out perfectly, then," Helen said finally, breaking the awkward silence.

"What do you mean by that?" Estella inquired, finding her voice at last.

"Well I have a surprise for Harry and I may be too old for this type of thing so I may need your help. It will have to wait until after your lessons of course, but it will take the rest of the day until you have to leave." Curious, Harry and Estella began a futile attempt at prying the information from her. "You'll find out what the surprise is after your lessons."

The secrets Helen was keeping from him seemed to be driving Harry crazy as he racked his brain with a million different ideas what Helen may have meant. Shaking her head with amusement, Helen walked out of the library.

"Well I guess I'll see you after the lesson then," Harry told Estella. As he turned to leave, Estella wrapped him in a friendly hug. Stiffening slightly from the contact, Harry slowly relaxed and returned the hug albeit uneasily, for he was still unused to hugging anyone other than Hermione and Mrs. Weasley.

"See you later," Estella said, letting go of Harry. A silly grin plastered upon his face, Harry nodded and rushed out the door to catch up with Aunt Helen.

Once again, Harry followed Helen through a maze of passageways, this time ending up at the end of a hallway that held 3 doors. The door on the left read gym, the door on the right read office, and the middle door read "Do Not Enter," which of course caused Harry to want to immediately twist the handle and find out what was inside.

Helen opened the door on the left and instructed Harry to go inside. As he stepped inside, his mouth dropped at the sight before him. Before him lay a massive room that was too large to fit in the studio without magic. A full size basketball court, volley ball court, and tennis courts took up only the left third of the room. On the right side, state of the art weight lifting equipment filled a padded region. The jaw dropper, however, was located in the center of the room. 6 golden, regulation size Quidditch rings were positioned in an artificial turf. Nearby was a shed containing several brooms, a quaffle, 2 bludgers, and naturally, the golden snitch.

"Wow," he breathed, still taking in the sight before him. Helen smiled at him knowingly, for she wore a similar look, even though she had been the one to design the room, she was still amazed by the sheer size every time she walked in.

"This is the extension your father made," Helen told him as he continued to gaze around in awe. "The hallways have charms on them to keep unfriendly or muggle visitors from nearing the site. Your father always wanted to play on the pitch and couldn't wait until you were grown so he could fly with you but he and Lily were in hiding, so this is the first time that this room will be used."

Harry's neck popped as he jerked his head towards her. "Y-you mean," he began, rubbing his neck, "I get to use it?"

"Well actually, seeing as it was your father's extension, it belongs to you now anyway." Harry's eyes were wide as saucers by now and he began thinking of ways he could sneak his Firebolt into the room until as if by magic, a wooden handle plopped in his hands. Looking down, he saw the trademark title of the Firebolt as well as his imprinted name on the tip to prove that it was his.

He looked up at Helen in wonder, asking how it had gotten here, for he had seen it locked up before he'd left that morning. "You have a very smart owl, Harry. I sent a letter to your room that said to have Hedwig bring your broom but you had already left so she took it upon herself to bring the broom anyway." Suddenly, the familiar swoosh of wings descending filled the air and Harry looked up.

"There's my girl," he said while ruffling her feathers. She nipped at his ear lovingly and took off again, flying in circles near the ceiling. "So is this what you meant by lessons, or is there something else," he asked, turning back to Helen.

"I don't believe that's exactly what she had in mind," replied a gruff voice behind him. Spinning to face the voice, he rushed to the speaker as he recognized the rough black hair and the slightly skinny features.

"Sirius! I thought you were in hiding-I mean you are in hiding. Why are you here where someone could find you?"

"Good day to you too," Sirius replied, acting as if the lack of a greeting had offended him.

"Sorry," Harry said, reddening in the face at his rudeness.

"Well if you must know, this is where I am hiding. There is a nice little place over there," he said, pointing near the volley ball court at a small house like structure, "and I stay in there. No one can find me, rest assured, unless Ms. Helen here decides to let them in."

"And as for your lessons," Helen cut in, "I believe Sirius can inform you on the…err…curriculum." At this she smiled conspiratorially at Sirius and wished Harry good luck as she left the room.

"Well," Sirius began, turning serious, "in here, I'm not supposed to be your friend, godfather or babysitter until after the lesson. I am your teacher and you will be addressed as if you were any other student." Harry looked slightly taken aback by Sirius' sudden change in character and he nodded slowly. "Good, now follow me."

Sirius began walking towards the right, much to the disappointment of Harry, who was still clutching his broom tightly and looking longingly at the Quidditch field. Approaching the padded ground, Sirius stopped suddenly and turned to look at Harry.

"Your father and I took a great deal of time out of our days to practice strength and conditioning while he was in hiding. Obviously the results of my training have long since disappeared due to my extended stay in Azkaban, but your father told me that if he could not do so himself that he wanted me to train you." Harry was slightly stunned by this revelation yet he nodded politely.

"I will not, however be your only teacher. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings you will be running two miles around the track with me for a warm up." Harry's mouth dropped at this word of his training having never run a mile before in his life. Sirius grinned wickedly at this, "But don't worry, we'll move up to 5 miles after a week or two. After your warm up you will be lifting weights with me for an hour, and for the last hour you will be flying." A sigh of relief escaped Harry as he heard this, thinking that this would give him a little respite. "Don't get so happy yet, you won't be doing just any flying. These maneuvers are built especially for testing endurance as well as revealing how much of a backbone you really have. On Tuesdays and Thursdays you will have the same workout, however in the mornings you will be learning martial arts from a friend of mine who sadly could not come today but trust me, you'll really hate him after the first few minutes."

Is it just me or is he intentionally making this sound really bad? Harry thought to himself, careful not to show any sign of emotion in his features.

"Now those lessons are a result of the promises I made to your father. Your mother, on the other hand, disliked our methods and came up with her own ideas. We compromised and she allowed us to have our plan if you were taught how to dance by Helen." Sirius grimaced slightly as if the idea of dancing hurt him physically, yet he smirked at Harry, knowing that Harry would rather run ten miles than learn how to dance. "Your dance lessons will take place prior to your warm up but I have no more information on the subject than that.

"Your current attire is not suitable for physical conditioning so today I will be teaching you how to use the equipment today and we will begin your training tomorrow." Harry felt slightly relieved at this, though the idea of dancing, running, lifting and strenuous flying sequentially snuffed out that happiness instantly.

Suddenly an idea formed in his mind, "Err…I don't have any clothes to work out in," he said hopefully.

Sirius chuckled at his pitiful attempt at escaping his work. "No need to worry, after this that setback will be worked out." Deciding that it was pointless to press the issue further, Harry prepared himself for an hour of learning about exercising equipment.

An hour later, Harry was finishing learning how to properly hold dumbbells when Helen entered the room. Shocked to see Estella with her, he dropped the weight on his foot.

"Bloody hell!" he yelled loudly, jumping up and down while clenching his fists in pain. A fit of giggles erupted from Estella and Helen and Harry couldn't help but smile at the sound. "You're a witch!" Harry asked Estella through gritted teeth, limping slightly as he walked towards the pair, knowing full well that Helen would only let a witch inside the gym.

"Of course," she told him as if it were old news. "Didn't Sirius tell you about me?"

"So you know Sirius then, and you know he's innocent right?"

"Yes, he's told me all about what happened that day. I'd like to say we've bonded," she told him, grinning at Sirius. "He's told me all about some of the more interesting things that you did as a child. They told me not to tell you though, sorry about that."

Harry shook his head, having had so many surprises in the past two days that he didn't know how he was keeping himself sane. "Well what now," Harry asked Helen, not wanting to allow them any more time to surprise him.

"Well, as Sirius may have told you, the clothes you have currently are not suitable for you to wear for the work you will be performing so you, Estella, and I are going on a little visit to Diagon Alley to purchase some new outfits." Harry looked devastated while Estella looked positively thrilled. Knowing full well that arguing would get him nowhere, he consented grudgingly. "Well we'll be on our way then."

"See you later, Sirius!" Harry yelled back as he rushed off to catch up with Estella and Helen. Looking at a clock, he saw that it read 2:00 and groaned inwardly, remembering that Helen had said that this would take the rest of the day. Great. Three hours of shopping. I don't know if I can make it. At least I have the tour afterwards. Smiling privately, he caught up with the girls and walked next to Estella until they reached the library. Handing them both a pinch of floo powder, she walked up to the fire and threw hers in, yelling "Diagon Alley" as she leapt into the green flames. Harry motioned for Estella to go next and followed her after a moment, wondering what would happen if he bolted right then, but deciding against it.

He appeared in the Leaky cauldron, landing on Estella as he shot out of the fireplace ungracefully.

"Sorry," he apologized, looking sheepish in his embarrassment. She grinned impishly at him and he found himself staring once again.

"Are you going to get off me Mr. Potter or are you simple going to stay there straddling me?" It was then that Harry noticed their position. Her legs were flat on the ground, sprawled out slightly and his legs were on either side, with his torso pressing down on hers. He leapt quickly to his feet, flushing a brilliant red, and helped her to her feet.

"If we're all done here," Helen said, once again smirking at the two, "we need to get moving. We have a lot to cover in such a short time.

The three walked to Gringotts to extract a sufficient amount of gold from their vaults. Helen had insisted on paying for Harry's clothes and they were still debating over whether or not he should pay for them himself when a goblin walked up to Harry.

"Mr. Potter, would you like to view the contents of your family vault?" The squeaky voice interrupted Harry and Helen in mid-sentence.

"Err…family vault?" The goblin nodded his head slowly, as if answering a child. "Well…what I mean is, don't I have to go to a hearing to obtain access to the vault?"

"Oh no sir. The hearing is merely to file the proper documentation for your possession of the vault. The contents have already been proven to be yours." The goblin smiled up at Harry menacingly, as if daring him to challenge him.

"Well, sure then, I guess." The goblin led Harry, Helen and Estella to the carts that led to the vaults. The trip was much longer than the regular length to his first vault. When the cart finally came to a shuddering halt, Harry found himself in front of a door very similar to his previous one, though the door to this one was much larger. The goblin slid his finger into the slit and a hissing sound emitted from the door as it swung open gradually. Slipping in, Harry saw now why this vault was called a family vault. There were several couches and cushions in the room, as if it were a living room rather than a vault.

Harry looked around, confused, as he had yet to see any sign of a galleon. Turning back to ask the goblin, he found that he was the only one in the room. "Err…hello? Anybody there?"

"We're out here Harry," called the voice of Estella. "The goblin says that you have to give us permission to enter the vault.

"Well how exactly do I do that?"

The high pitched voice of the goblin answered him this time. "You have to say, 'I hereby permit, whoever you are giving permission, to enter'" Harry followed these instructions and soon Estella and Helen were looking around in confusion as well.

"So, where is everything?" Estella said, piping up for the three.

"There is a door in the back right corner of the welcome room that leads to the next four rooms. The room you are in currently is the welcome room, as I said before, the second contains clothing, the third holds contains the money, the fourth is a secondary room for money storage, and the fifth contains are the hereditary items that have been passed down either through the generations or that your parents wanted you to have. That room, however, may only be entered after the hearing."

Harry was suddenly much more excited about the vault than for the money. He hadn't received anything from his parents before and the only memories of them he had were those of their deaths and the pictures he had been given of them.

"Well, we better get to it then. Wait until you see how much money is in the vault before you decide who will be paying for my clothes. Quickly finding the doorway, he entered the second room and found that many of the clothes were ancient and would be of little or no value to him. However, as he passed, he saw that one area contained many jewelry boxes that undoubtedly held priceless rings and necklaces. When he entered the third room, he noticed instantly that this room was much larger than the first two and thought for a moment that the walls were gold before he realized he was standing between two colossal piles of galleons. He had known how much money he had received but he had had no idea what 12 billion galleons would look like.

A gasp from behind him told him that Estella and Helen had entered the room. Smiling innocently at Helen, he asked her, "So do you still want to pay for the clothes?" Helen merely stared at him, eyes wide in incredulity. Her mouth opened and closed several times before he answered for her. "I'll take that as a no then."

Turning, he walked into the next room which he had figured, being the second money storage room would be smaller but if anything, the room seemed to expand than get smaller and he shook his head, wondering what he would do with so much money. Remembering that he couldn't enter the next room yet, he pulled out a money bag and began piling in galleons. He knew that Helen would spare him no expense now that she'd seen his vault and enlarged the bag to fit more coins. Finishing, he shrunk the hefty bag and placed a weightless charm on it.

He walked out and he left the vault with Estella and Helen, both still a bit shell-shocked from the contents of the vault. Helen had Harry exchange his money before they left Gringotts, saying that he would have to buy his clothes in Muggle London. Exiting Gringotts and walking outside to the streets of London, Harry followed Estella, whom Helen had given the task of finding clothes for Harry. They toured through several shops, buying what Harry thought to be a ridiculous amount of clothing for a single person. They not only bought the shorts and shirts needed for training and the suits he would need for dancing, but also casual jeans, hoodies and shoes that he could wear instead of Dudley's old clothes.

"How exactly am I supposed to get these into the house without the Dursleys freaking out?" Harry asked, suddenly recalling the treatment he received from his relatives.

"Ah yes," Helen answered, "You will be receiving the clothes as a gift from Sirius and in his letter, he will tell them in no uncertain terms that if they attempt to take the clothes or keep you from wearing them that they he will come and handle them personally." Harry nodded, smiling at the thought of the Dursleys faces when they heard this news.

At around 4:30, Estella announced that they were through shopping and they returned to Gringotts before making their way to the Leaky Cauldron and returning to the studio.

"Well it's nearly time for you to go Harry, so you two can chat a bit while I go mail your clothes. I'll be driving you home Harry so you won't have to worry about pretending to dislike me, because I'll just drop you off and leave." Harry nodded and she left Estella and him alone.

"So we're still doing the tour right?" Estella asked suddenly, sounding hopeful.

"Of course, I don't see why not. I'll just have to sneak out of the house when I go up to my room." Estella looked relieved at this and dropped onto a nearby bench, Harry taking a seat next to her.

"So I've been thinking," Harry said suddenly.

"Uh oh. That can't be good," Estella replied teasingly.

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Seriously though, if you're a witch, how is it that you didn't know that I didn't have parents. Not that I didn't mind talking to someone who didn't know who I was, but normally when I tell someone who I am they start gawking at my scar but you don't even know who I am. You even know Sirius, and he's infamous for his "role" in my parents' and Peter Pettigrew's deaths."

"Well for one, I didn't know that about Sirius, he told me the day that I met him. He seemed to be afraid that I wouldn't want to speak to him anymore but I don't care. As for knowing who you are, I've been homeschooled for my whole life because my brother wasn't technically allowed to be watching over me so we had to keep our distance from the rest of the wizarding world. I'd heard of you when I snuck out sometimes, but I never really understood what they were talking about."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, wondering what it would have been like if he'd been brought up in his family while they were still in alive and hiding. The sound of footsteps approaching brought him out of his trance and he looked up to see Helen walking up to them.

"Time to go you two," she said, turning on her heel without looking to see if they were following. Harry stood and helped Estella up and they followed Helen to the front door. They walked out and saw a sleek convertible in the parking spot that held a sign that read "Helen Stowes: Director." Sitting in the second row next to Estella, they left quickly and set off towards Privet Drive. When they arrived, Helen hurried Harry out of the car, explaining that she didn't want to have to speak with the Dursleys. With a wave, she drove off as Estella blew him a kiss.

Excited at the thought of being able to spend some time with her in a few moments he rushed to the door. Using the key under the mat, he walked inside, giddy with anticipation. Wondering why everything seemed so quiet, he walked into the kitchen.

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "HOW'S THIS FOR YOUR RUDDY GODFATHER, BOY?" Harry turned towards the speaker and saw Vernon lifting his fist before a searing pain shot through his skull and everything went black.

A/N I don't think this chapter is as good as the last one since I've been a little busy with studying for semester exams and I've gotten way too distracted while writing but I can't wait to read your thoughts towards it. This chapter may seem to end sort of abruptly but I had to split this chapter in two else it would be twice as long. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW


	3. A Night to Remember

A/N Merry (Slightly Late) Christmas Everyone!!! I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far and I'm glad to see that a few of you are reviewing. Remember, this is my first story so even criticisms would be welcome for me to improve on. I accept your thoughts and advice with the realization that I have asked for whatever I receive. Just please make sure to review, it only takes a second or two.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter or any other aspects of the series written by none other than J.K. Rowling.

**A Night to Remember**

Harry's eyes flickered open and he groaned slightly as he came around. His head was pounding with every heart beat and his nose was burning with a nonexistent flame. He sat up quickly as he remembered the events that had caused his pain, suddenly alert. He instantly regretted the motion when it caused a fresh uproar of throbbing pain. Along with his head, his chest now felt as if a weight was being pressed upon it. He couldn't breathe correctly so he lay back down and tried to block out his discomfort.

After a minute, he realized that he was lying on his bed which he knew was odd, seeing as his uncle would never care enough to move him off the floor and onto his bed. He heard a knock on the front door downstairs and forcibly restrained himself from reflexively opening it himself.

The bellowing voice of his uncle shook the house as he yelled out, "ANOTHER FREAK IS IT? GET OUT OF MY HOU-" His voice was abruptly cut off and the familiar sound of Sirius' voice traveled up to him.

"You will not speak to her that way," Sirius said in a dangerously low voice that Harry had only heard him use when he had wanted to kill Peter Pettigrew. The thought of the wormlike rat caused another inflammation of pain, this time coming from his heart as he remembered that day. "Now get back to your room before I show you why I was in Azkaban for the last 13 years." A soft whimper was all that escaped Vernon as he thundered back up to his room. Harry laughed softly at Sirius' antics before wondering how and why Sirius was in his house and who was at the door.

Indiscernible voices came from downstairs but Harry couldn't tell with whom Sirius was speaking. Footsteps ascended the stairs again and Harry turned his head as the door opened, afraid to risk further agitating his injuries.

"Harry!" squealed a thin voice from the door. In a flurry of brown hair and dashing feet, a pair of soft hands wrapped around his waist and caught him in a bone crushing embrace. Estella had shrieked and run to him the moment she had seen him and now held him in her tight grip. Regardless of her good intentions, his ribs shot into a searing pain that felt as if he were being used as a pincushion.

Unable to bear the torture any longer, despite the warmth of the contact, he cried out, causing Estella to jump away and look at him concernedly. Harry would have laughed at the irony of her look had he not been clutching his ribs and instead focused on blocking out the pain and halting his painful seizure like movements. As he composed himself, he noticed Sirius and looked at him inquiringly.

Addressing the unasked question, Sirius began to speak. "After an hour or so after you hadn't met Estella, she phoned the studio and I answered the phone. When she told me what was wrong I told her to meet me here and I apparated outside and snuck in to check on you. I came in through your room and when I didn't find you there I sought out your invisibility cloak so as not to alert the Dursley's and went to find you. I walked downstairs and checked the rooms before I found you lying bloodied on the kitchen floor unconscious. I realized that your uncle hadn't believed the note on the clothes we had sent to you and had taken the letter as a false threat so I threw off the cloak and found the bastard watching the television as if nothing was wrong and damn near killed him. He tried to play it off and say that you must have fallen and hurt yourself so I pulled my wand out to scare an answer out of him and he confessed what had happened.

"Apparently he knocked you out with his first punch to your face and thought you were faking unconsciousness and repeatedly kicked your chest before leaving you alone. He was getting ready to burn the clothes when I arrived but I managed to save them. Estella arrived and he tried to yell at her but I pointed me wand at him and had him go back upstairs before filling Estella in and here we are." Sirius smiled grimly and sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall.

Harry contemplated what he had said but didn't think much of the incidence. It wasn't the first time he'd been beaten and he doubted if it would be the last, though Sirius might fix that. He started as a smooth hand stroked his face and looked up to see Estella gazing at him with caring warmth in her blazing blue eyes. Her eyes roamed over his bruised and battered face and she grimaced slightly every time her hand slid over a particularly discolored spot.

"How could he do this to you, to anyone? It's…it's…inhumane." Tears began to well up and slide down her face as she said this.

"I stopped thinking of the Dursley's as humane long ago," Harry replied dismally, reaching up and wiping her tears away with a brush of his thumb. More tears streamed down her face and she dropped her head, ashamed to be crying in front of Harry and Sirius, and wiped them away quickly. Harry grasped her chin softly and raised her head to look at him in the eye. "Everything is alright. You're here now and that's all that matters. No use dwelling over things that I've already forgotten.

"You're right," she sniffled, smiling up at him. "I'm just being silly."

"No you're not. " He said softly. "I have trouble remembering that myself." He grinned up at her and winced at the action. His bodily contusions were going to cause him a great deal of trouble if they didn't heal soon.

"Ah, yes," Sirius said suddenly. "I will need to heal your wounds as soon as possible. That means, however, that I will have to leave immediately afterwards, because a team of Ministry officials will be scouting the house to check for any illegal actions soon afterwards. This house is marked as a dual Muggle/Wizard home so they won't come in but they will find me if I'm here. I'll be performing a healing spell so they will not flag it as illegal magic because they will figure it is the standard magical healing the body produces whenever wizards hurt themselves.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to stay longer but I made arrangements with Helen to leave Estella here for the night to watch over things, but only if she agrees, of course." He looked over at a surprised Estella expectantly.

"What about my brother, won't he be worried about me? I don't think he'd be too pleased if he knew where I was staying."

"He is to be told that you will be staying with Helen tonight so you won't have to worry about that." Estella's face lit up and she nodded excitedly. "Good, now you can keep an eye on Harry and I'll sleep better tonight."

"Speaking of sleeping," Harry cut in nervously, "where exactly are we supposed to sleep. There's only one bed." Harry flushed as Estella looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Yes, I thought of that. I would normally enlarge the room and duplicate the bed but seeing as that would bring the Ministry to your doorstep in a second, I've decided against that method. I brought a blanket," pointing at a wool blanket on the floor, "and an air mattress," pointing at a rolled up mattress near the blanket. Harry hadn't seen these before due to his deciding against turning his head too far in that direction when Sirius and Estella had first entered. At this news, Estella's smile fell a bit while Harry sighed in relief.

"Well I must be going so I'll patch you up and be on my way." Sirius pulled out his wand and waved it in a wide pattern while muttering softly and Harry suddenly felt a chill along his spine that traveled throughout his body and rested on his injuries. Within seconds, the feeling was over and he felt as good as new. Saying goodbye to Harry and Estella, Sirius shot out of the window and apparated away with a pop.

Sitting awkwardly next to Estella, Harry hesitated a moment before standing and moving to lay out the air mattress. Laying it out with Estella, Harry told her that he would give her the bed, which she politely refused, though the wicked look in her eye told Harry that she had something planned. The both stood in the middle of the room for a while before Harry bid her goodnight and lay down on his bed, kicking off his shoes and sliding beneath the covers. When she didn't move he looked at her questioningly and received a mischievous smile in return.

Out of the blue, instead of moving to her bed, she began to remove her shirt. Harry's mouth dropped in shock as he stared dumbly. "Wh-What are you doing?" he asked cautiously, gulping slightly as he saw that she still wore a white undershirt that was, in his mind far too transparent.

Winking in reply, she answered saying simply, "I'm getting ready for bed." She continued to remove her pants and Harry found himself staring at a piece of lacy nothing. He didn't think it was legal to wear something so thin and suddenly the seat of his pants began to ache and he became grateful that he was under the covers. Speechless, he opened and closed his mouth numerous times, but nothing came out. Smiling naughtily at him, Estella laid her clothes on his dresser and Harry began to wonder if maybe having her watch him wasn't such a good idea after all.

When she moved away from the dresser, it wasn't, as he had hoped, in the direction of her mattress. Instead, she walked slowly towards him, smiling as she went before sliding gracefully into the covers with him.

Finding his voice, he asked her in a quiet voice, "Aren't you g-going to sleep over there?" When she merely shook her head, he began to realize that he would never stop her from getting what she wanted. Sliding to the far side of the bed he tried to keep as far away as possible, but she merely rolled over and snuggled up into him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Turning her head to look at a gaping Harry she giggled slightly and pecked him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Mr. Potter." Pressing her bum into him, she grabbed his hand and wrapped it around her waist. After a time, her breathing steadied and Harry realized that she had fallen asleep.

_I don't know whether to rejoice or panic_, he thought to himself. _She's obviously gorgeous and she did this on her own so I might as well accept it._ Harry knew he was simply trying to talk himself into accepting the inevitable and settled with the fact that he would be able to do nothing about his current situation. Closing his eyes, he attempted to sleep but couldn't help but think about the bum pressing into him or the way she fit into him. He sighed, knowing that he would have a long night ahead of him. _At least I'll be warm and cozy,_ he thought before drifting off into a dream-laden sleep about a certain chestnut haired girl with black, lacy underwear.

A/N I've had a couple readers ask for more on Harry and Estella so here's a short chap for ya'll. I really just wanted to get something in before I go out of town for a week or so since I don't know whether or not I'll have a computer to use where I'm going. Hope you enjoyed it and PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	4. Training

A/N Well I started this story a looong time ago, December 2008 in fact, and never had a chance to come back due to so many ridiculous reasons I'd spend the next day and a half explaining them. To any dedicated fans who've managed to wait that long for this chapter or who got an email from a Story Alert or Author Alert I apologize profusely for the wait and intend to make up for my extended absence by updating my story regularly (at least a chapter or 2 per week if not more). To new fans, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter or any other aspects of the series written by none other than J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 4: Training

Harry stirred slowly, eyes cracking from sleep as he groggily opened them. Turning his head slightly, something tickled his nose yet when he reached up to scratch it his hand was stuck under a soft weight. Attempting to see what was restricting the movement of his arm he attempted again to turn his head and realized that tickling his nose was, in fact, hair!

Suddenly his memories of last night rushed back to him and it took every morsel of self control he possessed not to jump out of bed. As he regained more control of his senses he began to realize the depth of his situation. The hand he had tried to move was curled under Estella's body, pulling her to him, and the other rested lightly on her hip. The most embarrassing knowledge came from the fact that upon investigating the sensations he felt in his lower regions he became keenly aware of the throbbing located in his swollen loins, which at that moment were pressed firmly to Estella.

_Bloody hell…_ _Perhaps she hasn't woken yet and I still have a chance to save myself._ With that thought as his inspiration, Harry began the slow process of extricating his arm from under Estella without disturbing her too much, albeit without much success as he only managed to rub his hand over her as he tried to find some leverage.

Giggles emanated suddenly, bursting Harry's concentration and startling him into yanking his hand out from under Estella, all caution thrown to the wind as he searched for the source of the sound.

"If you really wanted to feel me up that badly all you had to do was ask." Harry realized the giggling had come from Estella and his face turned a cherry red as she turned to see him.

"No I-I… I mean I was…" His stuttering only seemed to amuse Estella further as she burst into a fit of laughter at Harry's expense.

"It's ok," she said as she calmed herself down, "maybe I like it." She winked and slid out from beneath the covers, grabbing a bag containing her clothing and heading out down the hall to the bathroom. Harry stuffed his head into his pillow, his muffled screams of frustration drowned out by the sound of the bathroom shower.

The two finished cleaning up quickly and headed downstairs at the sound of Vernon's subdued call. They went outside to see him already in the car, avoiding looking at the two while Estella glared daggers at him. The ride to the studio was silent which Harry was grateful for, he hadn't wanted any trouble.

Helen hustled them into the doors without as much as a word to Vernon, not trusting herself to speak. "I can't believe that repugnant, pompous, oversized, ignorant fool!" she exclaimed as soon as the doors slammed shut. "Oh if I'd been there I'd have wrung his stump of a neck into oblivion! You're not too sore are you Harry?" She asked suddenly, inspecting him tenderly as if afraid he might break.

"I'm fine Aunt Helen," he replied embarrassedly at her ministrations, brushing her hands away, "Estella and Sirius have fixed me up and taken great care of me." He blushed at this, remembering the previous night with Estella.

"I'm sure they did," Helen replied knowingly with a smile and proceeded to direct them the Potter Extension. When they entered she directed them to changing rooms to dress appropriately for the dance lessons, Harry in sweatpants and a tight shirt and Estella in tights and a tank top. The first half hour was spent working on Harry's flexibility, balance and fluidity with them working on various yoga poses and exercises which he held no great talent for but attempted nevertheless, not wanting to give up so easily.

The next hour was spent working on steps to various types of dancing – the foxtrot, swing, rumba, waltz, etc. Harry had a throbbing headache by the time they finished that section, unable to remember the steps to the dances or their various individual complexities though Estella assured him it would get easier with time, though her amused laughter at his attempts made him feel as though she most likely hadn't struggled so much in the beginning. Finally his last half hour was spent in more enjoyable partnered practicing, where Estella was able to correct him with a gentle tug or whisper in his ear. He found himself enjoying himself and the time flew by until Sirius came to split the pair for Harry's physical conditioning. Estella parted with a good luck and a wink before heading to a nearby table to watch the remainder of his workout.

Harry quickly changed into shorts and met Sirius at the track around the Quidditch pitch. True to his word, Sirius set them off on a 2 mile warm up jog that Harry felt was begun at a pace much too fast for that length, leaving him with a painful stitch in his side by the end. The weight training included a great deal of what Sirius called kamikaze repetitions, forcing Harry to burn out on a particular workout at 70% of his maximum weight, then after a brief respite, burn out at a lower weight, moving down in increments of 5-10 to 25% of his maximum weight. It seemed that no matter how sure Harry was that he'd reached his limit for a set Sirius always managed to push an extra rep or 2 out him every time.

When it came time for flying Harry was so strained he could barely lift the broom. His exercises included a great deal of precision flying, including diving and flying between hoops at breakneck speeds, causing several painful crashes and injuries. Harry felt he was finally getting the hang of the exercises until Sirius added another element, bludgers. He was forced to concentrate intently on the tasks he was set towards while making sure to keep a tab on the whereabouts of the hazardous brown spheres, pressing him to the limits of his endurance. When his godfather finally called a stop he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the ground as soon as he touched down near Estella's table, unable to hold himself up.

"So…have fun?" Estella asked, grinning widely down at him. He groaned and attempted to roll over, too tired even to reply. "Here take this," she said, holding out a vial of a murky brown fluid, "It's a potion that works like an accelerated protein to help your body heal faster so that you can keep working out every day at peak condition." He drank the concoction in one painful swallow, surprised to find that it had a pleasant taste. His body began to tingle and he felt an unpleasant urge to climb out of his skin as his muscles vibrated in reaction to the potion. Suddenly his soreness numbed to a dull ache and though he remained fatigued.

"Well you've had a good day kid," Sirius said good-naturedly, strolling up casually towards the pair. "Still a great deal of improvement to be made but a few more weeks of this while taking that accelerant and you'll notice yourself filling out a lot more." Harry groaned at the thought of several more weeks of this training but simply got up and headed to the showers, incapable of responding.

When Harry and Estella finished showering and changing back into casual clothes Helen led them to the library where she gave them both lunches and told them she'd return soon. Settling into chairs across from one another they ate their lunch in silence.

"You said you were homeschooled your whole life right?" Harry asked, breaking the peaceful quiet. At her nod he continued, "Don't you think you'd prefer going to a real school? You'd be around a lot more witches and wizards and you'd be able to see more people your age."

"My brother became my legal guardian towards the beginning of the summer so he plans to have me go to Hogwarts this year, its where our parents went and where he would have gone had they not died and forced him into working at such a young age."

"So you two have really been on your own this whole time? How'd you manage from so young?"

Estella shuffled uncomfortably and her eyes clouded, as though recalling a painful memory, before replying, "Well… I was just a babe when my parents died so my brother had to take care of us himself. He knew spells to keep food from going bad so we lived at home for a time, not having any family to turn to and not wanting to be taken in as orphans for fear of being separated. Things would have continued like that until we were forced to find food or someone found us but then the Death Eaters came." Harry's jaw clenched as he heard this but he refrained from commenting. "My parents were pure bloods so they had come to recruit them to Voldemort's army but when they found us instead they attempted to capture us but my brother fought them off and escaped with me. He went into hiding, carrying me around and finding food and clothing to for us, always moving to avoid detection and capture. When Voldemort was defeated he had been so used to hiding and living alone that he simply continued hiding out with me and raised me the best he could. It was a hard life but we managed. I've grown up away from the city and from wizardry in general so I've missed out on the whole traditional childhood."

"Well that's something we have in common I suppose," Harry said with a slight smile. "I don't think growing up under a cupboard not knowing your history when you're the most famous wizard in the world is really considered a traditional childhood either." Estella laughed at this and curled up further into her chair, enjoying the warmth of the fireplace. "So I don't suppose you've had any experience with boyfriends then have you?" Harry asked suddenly after a pause, before turning away looking uncomfortable at his outburst. "Er… I mean not that you couldn't have attracted guys or anything because your very attractive and all of course, but um… you know I thought maybe you'd have been kept away from people for the most part or something I guess…" Harry rambled on awkwardly, attempting to make up for his blunder and stuttering horribly as Estella giggled in amusement.

"It's ok I understand your question," she said, saving him from further embarrassment, "and no I don't have much experience with boyfriends other than what I've read in my books. I love to read, it's like living in my own little world away from everything." She said this last bit dreamily, closing her eyes and envisioning herself in her own fantasy.

"Yea, I can't say I read much but I can understand wanting to escape, to be able to write your own story and not have to worry about how things end up. To be in such control over your life seems extraordinary, but like they say, happy ever after only exists in fairy tales."

Estella studied Harry at this, watching his shoulders slump as he thought of how his life would be had he been in control of the pen in control of his fate. Rising slowly she joined him in his chair, causing him to snap out of his reverie. She plucked a book from a shelf and put her head on his chest and began to read. Rigid in surprise, Harry cautiously relaxed and put an arm around her, enjoying her warmth and peaceful companionship. By the time Helen came back to retrieve the two they had already curled up and fallen asleep. Smiling at the image she simply turned off the lights and returned to work, content to allow them their moment of peace.

When the time came for Harry to return home for the day he was even more reluctant than the previous day. Only the promise of a tour with Estella kept cheered him as he headed inside the Dursley's home. Changing into some of his nicer jeans and Estella's favorite shirt he headed outside and down the street towards Estella's home.

Reaching the house, he found Estella already sitting outside waiting for him and embraced her affectionately before leading her off. Pointing out various homes and their oddities with a businesslike tone, Harry proceeded to escort Estella around the neighborhood in a tour guide fashion.

"If you look to your right you'll see a small residence within which resides an elderly woman with an insatiable fetish for felines. In fact, if you direct your attention to the lower left corner of the building you will see several small kittens toying with what is likely to be the woman's false teeth." The two burst into laughter at this and had to hold on to one another to steady themselves.

"So Potter's got himself a girl now has he mates?" Harry and Estella sprang apart at this and glared at Dudley as he walked towards them with his usual gang of miscreants. "So what's a floozy like you doing with his lot anyway? Couldn't find a real man to touch you anymore?" The gang of boys laughed at this and moved in to surround the two.

Estella simply glared at him as he moved in on her, waiting until he was in range to strike. She moved with unnatural speed and grace, kicking her leg between Dudley's legs and felling him instantly before grabbing his arm and twisting it around his back into an obviously painful position. Dudley could do little but groan in protest, clutching his stomach in agony.

"Now," Estella began, a fury in her eyes that dared the boys to make the mistake of taking another step closer, "what part of leave us alone don't you understand?" She pulled viciously on Dudley's arms with the last the words, turning Dudley's moans to a whimper. "Now if you don't think you can handle such a complicated request then I can make sure to break a bone in your body every time you don't. Do you understand me?" The calmness in her voice as she said the final portion scared even Harry as Dudley managed to squeak out a weak agreement.

Giving one last painful twist to his arm, Estella released Dudley and he shot off down the street, his crew in hot pursuit. Angrily brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, Estella began walking down the street, hips swaying violently, stopping only to turn and look curiously at a dumbfounded Harry. "Coming?" she asked simply, tapping her foot impatiently. Harry snorted in amusement before jogging to catch up, still unbelieving of the situation.

"Where the bloody hell did you learn to do that?" he asked after a moment of incredulous silence. "That was fantastic!"

Estella simply shrugged and replied with a wink, "I've picked up a few things here and there," causing Harry to explode into a fit of laughter that had barely subdued to a chuckle when they finally returned to Estella's home.

"Well I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then huh?" Harry asked morosely, reluctant to leave.

"Yeah, thanks a lot though. I've had so much fun today, even with your cousin's interruption. I'm so glad to know you." She leaned up and gave Harry a peck on the cheek before running inside, blushing furiously.

Turning dazedly to leave, Harry thought he say a pair of eyes in a window but they were gone as suddenly as they'd appeared and he decided it must have been a trick of the light and headed back to the Dursley's with the same bewildered expression.

A/N Hope you liked this short chapter. I'll most likely upload the next chapter tomorrow or the day after. Please R/R Thanks!


	5. New Skills

A/NAaaannnd the next installment to my first story is complete. Enjoy!

Chapter 5: New Skills

The following day began similarly to the first as Harry headed to "work" with his continually hushed uncle. Despite his uncle's now subdued nature, Harry dared not provoke him, for he worried that his relative would soon forget Sirius's previous lesson and resort back to his old habits.

Meeting Helen at the door, Harry gave her a warm welcome as his uncle pulled away, walking briskly towards the Potter Extension as he was eager to see Estella. Had he known what lay in store for him that day he would never have entered the studio.

Opening the door, he was greeted with a cheerful hug from Estella until Helen broke them up by tossing his sweats over their heads. Quickly changing into their outfits, they proceeded to review much of the lessons Harry had learned the previous day. The constant repetition of the moves began to create a muscle memory for Harry and he was already starting to remember the steps more easily, though he continued to stumble regularly as he could not yet force his body to conform to the instructions given by his teachers.

Following his dance lessons, Harry suited up for weight training and surprised to realize that he wasn't sore from the previous day's exertions, attributing it to the potion Estella had given him. Sirius had him work on legwork, producing a weighted vest for Harry to wear and setting him to work on several drills in which Harry was forced to sprint, jump, climb and tumble through various courses.

"Generally on leg and conditioning days that weight would by doubled Harry," Sirius said at the end of the workout, "but today I have been asked to leave you fairly intact for your martial arts lessons." A mischievous smile teased upon his lips as he said this, pointing behind Harry. Harry turned to find himself confronted with a short African American man with a colorful shirt that said, "I Pop Skulls." As the man approached Harry had no doubt that the man could indeed pop skulls as his biceps were lined with straining veins and his thighs seemed to be straining to burst from his skin. The Mohawk style hair completed the man's Bone Crusher look and Harry gulped as the man flashed him a smile that seemed to promise pain in the near future.

"Names Big Rob," the man said as he neared the group, extending a hand in greeting and effectively crushing Harry's hand in a single seemingly effortless squeeze of his hand. "Now before we start I have a few guidelines to set down," he began abruptly, placing his hands behind his back and pacing in military fashion. "I'm here to instruct you in self defense and expect you to devote yourself to my training. I demand respect from you and expect your full attention when you work with me. Any disobedience will result in swift punishment which I assure you will not be pleasant. I don't like to repeat myself so if you have no questions we can begin."

Leading Harry towards the southwest corner, the floor turned to padded blue foam and the walls were lined with several weapons. Picking up a set of thin, soft armor, headgear and gloves, Big Rob tossed the equipment to Harry, instructing him on how to put it all on.

"To begin, we're going to work on Muay Thai, as it is perfect for a kid of your small stature. It is known as the "Art of Eight Limbs" as it utilizes 8 points of impact from your legs, hands, knees and elbows rather than simply the 2 points of impact from your fists as used in traditional boxing." Big Rob continued on to instruct Harry in the proper stance for the training. "Now you want to make sure to keep your feet moving, because staying still creates more opportunities for your opponent to strike out at a weakness. This also allows maximum awareness and maneuverability for you to dodge or parry strikes from your rival. Now I'm a firm believer of learning through experience so in a moment, as soon as I'm confident that you have the footwork down I will strike out and expect you to avoid or deflect my attacks."

Big Rob quickly instructed Harry in the footwork and the methods for deflecting and parrying attacks and after a half speed demonstrations told Harry to defend himself as best as he could. Placing one hand behind his back slowly, Big Rob struck out with an open palm with lightning speed, quickly striking Harry on the side of his headgear, causing him to see white spots and his vision to blur.

"Use your eyes, boy! Watch my movements! Look for patterns! Make mental notes of anything you notice me doing in the split seconds before I strike! Pay attention! Faster!" Big Rob said all of this between blazingly fast strikes, giving Harry an assortment of bruises around his body despite his padding. "Are you even trying, boy? I've seen children move faster than that, are you slow?" Big Rob's constant taunting was causing Harry to become annoyed and sloppy. He was sweating now as he struggled to keep up with the pace, the protective suit clinging to his body at various creases and making Harry even more uncomfortable. When Big Rob finally called for rest, Harry could barely move he was so sore from the pain of Big Rob's unrelenting barrage. He couldn't believe that anyone could move so quickly without respite and only the use of one hand. Big Rob assured him, much like Estella and Helen had, that he would improve with time and practice, though the look in his eye suggested he was slightly disappointed at something.

Heading back to rejoin Sirius, Helen and Estella, Harry took the recuperative potion tiredly from Estella and turned back towards the shower. As he opened the door to the locker room he heard Big Rob whispering in a hushed voice to Sirius, "Perhaps he doesn't have the talent after all, not everyone inherits the gift from their parents…" Curious, Harry hesitated a moment further and listened in to Sirius's reply.

"Give him some time, some are just late bloomers. He must have the ability, I'm sure of it." Unsure of what they had meant, Harry decided he'd find out later and went on to get cleaned up.

The next few weeks went by without any serious events as Harry continued his training and his friendship with Estella grew closer. A month went by and Harry began to notice that the working out really had begun to alter him as he began to notice his own biceps forming and the lines of abs began to form as his body became more toned. He and Sirius had moved up to 5 laps for warming up and he was increasing his weights regularly for his workouts. Flying was no longer as strenuous as it had previously been and he began to enjoy the feel of being in the air again. The dancing had become almost second nature to Harry and he was beginning now to simply enjoy it as a time to bond with Estella, as they merely spent the time dancing together, improvising and chatting while enjoying spending time together. The only region of Harry's training that he continued to struggle in was the martial arts.

Big Rob had scheduled their workouts to being daily so that he could work more with Harry. Despite the hard work they put in, Harry simply couldn't manage to get the hang of the techniques and became more and more frustrated while Big Rob simply kept pushing him with unrelenting fervor, though the look in his eyes suggested he was losing faith in Harry's possessing of whatever ability he and Sirius had spoken of that first day.

One day in late June, Big Rob suddenly sighed and seemed to slump in defeat as he effortlessly forced Harry to his knees again with a simple flick of his wrist. He had resorted to attempting to anger Harry during their sessions beginning in their second week to provoke carelessness in an effort to teach Harry self control. "Hopeless, I don't know why I try. You're as hopeless as your father. No wonder he failed to protect you mother and you, and it seems like he's passed it onto you." This was the first time Big Rob had brought up anything so personal to Harry and a cold sliver of anger passed through his spine. His fist clenched and his jaw clenched as he attempted to calm himself down, knowing Big Rob's intentions and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of provoking a response. A moment later Harry found himself on the ground again, clutching his stomach in pain from a roundhouse kick that had knocked him off his feet. "I hope Estella and your friends know how to defend themselves, because it seems to me that relying on you for protection will only get them killed. Maybe I'll bring her over her to see if you work harder knowing she's in danger."

Big Rob made a motion towards Estella's table and instantly a massive wave of fury entered Harry. His eyes flashed and seemed to change colors, shifting from their original green hue to a scarlet red with flecks of gold around the edges. A transparent golden flame gathered around Harry and the air became suddenly charged with electricity. His breathing slowed and grew heavy as time seemed to slow around him. Planting a foot firmly in the ground he pushed himself off the ground, moving with such speed that the indention from his foot remained there for a moment after he'd already taken off. A roar of anger erupted from his lips as he sprinted towards Big Rob who turned in surprise, a look of awe and a hint of fear on his face. To the average eye it would seem as though Harry was in two places at once as a blurred image of him remained in his previous spot on the floor and a more definite image sped across the room at an unnatural speed. His fist knifed through the air like electricity and collided with Big Rob's chest with a deafening explosion that resembled thunder. A sickening crunch came from the point of impact and Big Rob was lifted from his feet, flying through the air and crashing into the wall behind him. Harry stood where Big Rob had previously been, panting heavily, a look of fury still on his face.

Clapping erupted from behind Harry, causing him to twirl around violently. Bewilderment replaced the anger as the dominant emotion evident in Harry's expression as he found himself staring at a smiling Big Rob, completely unharmed. Turning again in confusion, Harry managed to see the crumpled form of Big Rob's body fade into the ground and looked down at his fist in perplexity, unsure if he had merely imagined the previous event or if he was seeing things.

Chuckling, Big Rob began to speak to Harry in a reassuring voice. "Don't worry, you're not going crazy. What you've just performed and witnessed is an example of the power of Wizard Auras. Sit down and make yourself comfortable while I explain." Still confused, Harry sat at the table with Estella, who was grinning broadly at him. "Wizard Auras go back to the beginning of wizardry, when Merlin first began to tap into his powers. Merlin discovered that witches and wizards all have an innate affinity to certain regions of magic, Healing, Research, Dueling, etc. He also learned that each magical user had a specific aura, the color of which varied with the power of the wizard. These auras are connected to a wizard's soul and cannot be altered. Some magical users have more than one specialty and their auras bond with one another although even these people tend to have one particular region in which they excel the most. Occasionally these auras result in Gifts of extraordinary power though no one has ever discovered the limits of these Gifts. Your father had a Dueling affinity and your mother a Research-Healing blend. You seem to have received your father's dueling affinity which not only affects your abilities with magical dueling but also your physical strength and prowess at fighting. It seems that you have also inherited your father's gift, one that allows you to view time at a slower pace, which gives you more time to assess your options and allows you to move at impossible speeds. Deception is also a part of this Gift, as the speeds you reach allow you to create illusions of yourself that confuse your opponents as they attempt to determine the true version of yourself. The trick I performed takes this one step further and creates a solid version of yourself that can last for as long as you can keep up your concentration. They can't perform at the same level of skill as your original form but are still more than enough to dispatch of lesser threats and can be used as methods of escape, as I showed you moments ago."

Sufficiently overwhelmed by this information, Harry attempted to wrap his mind around the concept of Wizard Auras before inquiring further into the topic. "So is there a way to control these abilities or must I be suitably angry before they take effect?"

Big Rob smiled evilly at this. "That's what I'm here for, to train you to control your powers so they don't get out of control and to allow you to call upon them when the need arises. It's going to take a great deal of work and, as you know, I'm a firm believer in learning through experience. So now that you know the feeling of your power, I want you to attempt to summon them again but this time you will use them to deflect or avoid my assault. Ready, begin."

Harry spent the remainder of the day attempting to rouse his talents again but with little success, yet the progress gave him new hope for his training and he fell asleep that night thinking that his father would be proud that Harry had followed in his footsteps and inherited the same Wizard Aura and Gift as his father.

The end of the week came swiftly with Harry making swift progress in his combat training as he'd begun to gain a greater aptitude for his aura, managing to tap into his Gift with greater ease, although he continued to rely on anger as his trigger which Big Rob disliked as it often led to hasty and careless decisions.

As the Dursley's were gone for the weekend, Harry had arranged a dinner with Estella in London, which Helen agreed to provide transport for. The week before, Harry had withdrawn a few hundred galleons with which he had purchased a suit for himself and, to Estella's great delight, a short, tight fitting dress for her to wear. The reservations were made for the two the day before and Harry was excited for the night to begin.

Helen picked him up at the Dursley's and together they met Estella outside of her house and Harry nearly choked when he saw her before him. The black dress accentuated her figure to perfection and her slender, creamy legs flowed out into a sensual pair of black heels. Harry stood on the stairs gaping at her in awe as she smiled down at him shyly.

"Y-you look… incredible. So beautiful… I mean, not that you aren't always beautiful because you are but – " Harry rambled on unconsciously, unable to form his words into coherent sentences, causing Estella to giggle nervously.

"Thank you," she said, cutting off his blundering, "you don't look so bad yourself." Stepping down the final stair, she slipped hand into his and allowed him to lead her to the car. Helen drove the two into London and stopped outside of an elegant restaurant by the name of _Le Caprice_. Waving goodbye, Helen promised to return in an hour and the two headed inside and were escorted to a private table in a secluded section of the restaurant. Ordering quickly, the two began to laugh about Harry's training and were still discussing it when their food arrived.

"You were so hopeless at dancing when you first started," Estella said between spoonfuls of her soup. "I didn't think my feet would ever recover from you constantly stepping on them."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed in a falsely hurt voice. "I wasn't that bad and you said I was a natural."

"I lied," Estella giggled out, bursting into laughter at the hurt look on his face.

The dinner went on with much laughter from their table, which only increased when a waiter asked them to tone down their noise level. When their hour was up they were so giddy with mirth that they had to use one another as support on their way out of the building. True to her word, Helen was outside waiting for them and drove the two carefree teens to the park Harry had gone to the day he'd met Estella as the pair had wanted to walk home the rest of the way.

Saying goodbye to Helen as she drove home, the duo set off towards Estella's home in silence, content to merely enjoy one another's presence in the moonlight. Halfway to their destination, the hairs on Harry's neck and arms began to prickle as goose bumps formed. Stopping abruptly, he began to look about in anticipation, poised for danger.

"What is it?" Estella asked when she noticed his behavior, a trace of worry in her voice. "Did you hear something?"

"No it's not that," Harry replied cautiously, still searching the area uncertainly. "I just get the feeling that someone's watching us. Maybe it's just my ima-" Harry's voice trailed off as he located the source of his unease. Walking towards the two was a gang of teens, perhaps a few years older than Harry, who were clearly up to no good as several held spray cans in their hands and others carried bags filled with an assortment of what were likely stolen belongings.

"Well, well boys, what do we have here?" A muscular boy with spiked blond hair said as the group drew closer to Harry and Estella. "Looks like a couple of rich brats who've lost their way home." The group fanned out into a semicircle around the couple, cutting them off from the direction they'd been heading in. "Wouldn't be right to leave them out here with no way home would it?" the boy continued through a sneer. "But directions come at a price don't they?" At this the boys began to smile maliciously and crack their knuckles in expectation of the fun they were sure was to come. Harry unconsciously moved Estella behind him and slowly removed his jacket, much to the amusement of the group. "Looks like we've got another hero. We'll deal with you quickly kid, and then we'll have fun with the pretty thing hiding behind him." At this Harry growled instinctively and felt his anger flow through his veins as time began to slow and his vision sharpened.

"Don't hurt them too much Harry," Estella warned, causing the leader of the group to curl his lip in annoyance and flick out a switchblade. At this, two boys closest to Harry advanced quickly, hands raised with the overconfident adrenaline of those expecting an easy fight. To Harry, however, it appeared as though the two were moving in slow motion and he merely waited for them to approach. As the boy to his left came within range first, Harry reacted with blinding speed and power, launching into the air towards his assailant and planting a foot directly into the left side of his chest. Using the momentum of the boy as well as the force of the crushing blow, Harry propelled himself backwards, flipping over the second attacker. As he sailed over the shocked head of the second boy he reached out and grabbed the boy's shoulders to support himself as he spun before kicking his legs into the back of the boy, forcing him into the ground face first. Not giving the remaining 4 a chance to react, Harry moved to the nearest and thrust his fist into his stomach, twisting his wrist to maximize the damage and causing him to curl up in agony. Harry quickly dispatched of another with a quick kick to the back of his knees and the third with an excruciating chop to the throat. Spinning around before the last boy even hit the ground, Harry grabbed the leader by the throat and lifted him off the ground with a single hand, his anger still blazing in his eyes. Gasping for breath and his eyes wide with fear, the blond haired leader was too stunned for words and simply gawked down at Harry, unable to fathom how one person could possibly have taken out his entire gang in only a few seconds.

"Don't you _ever_ threaten her again, or next time I'll kill you," Harry said in a dangerously low voice. Had the boy not seen the astonishing display of power a moment ago he might have laughed at this threat but, dangling in the air by Harry's outstretched hand, he decided to not to risk his luck and nodded instead.

Estella's reassuring hand on Harry's arm caused him to return normal and he dropped the boy and accepted his jacket from her, stepping casually over the bodies of those he'd taken down with such ease and taking Estella's hand back into his own.

The rest of the trip to Estella's house went by without incident and when they reached her door she turned and smiled at him warmly. "Thank you for tonight, Harry. Even with what happened earlier this has been one of the best days of my life. I can't thank you enough but maybe this will do." Leaning up on her tiptoes she leaned in and kissed Harry softly on the lips, pressing into him tenderly as his hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer. The heat of the kiss spread through the two quickly until they finally pulled apart, eyes closed in peaceful bliss. Turning slowly, Estella opened the door to her house and went inside stopping to turn and smile once more before shutting the door softly. Harry stood on the steps for a moment more in dazed happiness before whooping and leaping off the steps. He nearly floated back home and fell asleep that night feeling as though he were already in a dream.

A/N Hope you liked it, probably my favorite so far but I want to hear what you think. Please please please review, it'll only take a moment of your time and doesn't even have to be good. Constructive criticism only though. Thanks.


	6. Birthday Celebrations

A/N I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I know I did as I enjoyed spending time with my family. Now that my break is over I'm back with another chapter which I hope you all will enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and all that jazz. Its J.K. Rowling's obviously

Chapter 6: Birthday Celebrations

The month of July sped by as swiftly as Harry's accelerated progress in his training. The week after Harry and Estella ran into the gang of hoodlums and they shared that first kiss Harry no longer had any problems calling upon his Gift. Anger was no longer needed as a trigger for Harry had a new memory to draw upon when calling up his powers and it seemed to cause a much stronger reaction. As Sirius put it when Harry first tested his theory and set the mats on fire with his aura alone, having someone to fight for was much more powerful than anger.

Harry had been deeply troubled to hear news of the Death Eater attack at the Quidditch World Cup from a letter Ron had written him containing a newspaper and a detailed account of the match which, of course, Ron couldn't refrain from talking about despite the grave situation. Harry was surprised and slightly guilty that he hadn't given his friends much thought or correspondence the past 2 months and had attempted to make up for it with long letters enlightening Ron and Hermione on how incredibly his summer was going despite being holed up with the Dursleys, although he refrained from elaborating on his relationship with Estella as he didn't know himself what to make of it, as they had merely returned to their customary friendship as though the kiss had never happened and Harry didn't know what to make of everything, deciding to ask Hermione what to do when the chance arose.

Harry's birthday came about without incident and Harry didn't expect much to happen, as he hadn't told Estella and doubted that Helen knew the date. Luckily the Dursleys were spending a week at Aunt Marge's house, as they had been afraid to bring her back to their home after the first incident so Harry was prepared to spend his day at home in peace after training. Sure enough, when Helen picked him up from the house, she showed no signs of any festive mood and Harry felt a little disappointed despite himself, as he hadn't even received the regular birthday packages from the Weasleys or Hagrid. Opening the doors to the Potter Extension, however, Harry was nearly blasted from his feet from the explosion of noise that met him.

"SURPRISE!" came the collective shouts of the group waiting for him. Ron and Hermione stood beaming at him next to a slightly more reserved Ginny while Fred and George stood at the ends smiling mischievously with several oddly shaped packages in hand. Helen, Lupin, Hagrid, Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled down at him with cards in hand while Sirius stood in the front with his hands raised dramatically. Estella stood in the middle of everyone with a slender box and the same shy smile she'd had after they shared their first kiss.

"Well stop standing around staring at him and give the boy his presents!" Sirius exclaimed suddenly, a playful smile tugging at his mouth. Everyone suddenly rushed forward, enveloping Harry in hugs and congratulations, handing him gifts to unwrap. Dumbledore handed him a book on Wizard Auras that Harry felt would be especially useful in continuing his training. Hagrid produced an album of moments from Harry's first year at Hogwarts. Mrs. Weasley gave him one of her infamous sweaters and a bag of treats and Mr. Weasley handed him, much to Harry's and Hermione's amusement, a broken cell phone which he told Harry he had never been able to get to function properly. Harry blushed profusely when Sirius handed him a book titled, _How to Please Your Woman_ and nodded towards Estella, vowing silently to burn it at the first opportunity. Lupin gave him a journal, telling him that being able to read through memories could bring happiness even in the gloomiest of situations. Fred and George gave him a package of items marked "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes" and told him that he was officially their new product tester. He made sure to set that box down carefully next to Sirius's book, deciding immediately to burn it as well. Ron produced a pair of glasses with which Harry could replay the entire Quidditch World Cup Match as though he were sitting in the arena and Hermione and Ginny had tied together to get Harry supplies to clean and enhance his Firebolt. Estella came up last of all and handed him a thin black box gazing timidly up at him and biting her lip nervously. Harry opened the box without breaking eye contact and reached in to remove a plain silver ring with the message "Diligo Vinculum Nos Una" engraved on the outside.

"It was my father's," Estella said softly. "I have an identical one that he made to go with it for my mother. The inscription means, 'Love Binds Us Together." My father said that as long as they both wore the rings they could always find their way back to one another. If you tap it with your wand and say _Reperio_ it will tell you where the other ring is and saying _Concero_ will bring you to me. I want you to have it because you should know I'm always going to be here for you and I'll always come when you need me."

Harry was left speechless. Heart thumping and throat constricting, tears began to form in his eyes. Slipping the ring on to his finger, Harry locked eyes with Estella once again, unable to form words to express the torrent of emotions flooding through him. Instead he cupped her cheek and pulled her to him slowly. Stopping a hairs breadth away, he spoke in a choked voice.

"I told you once I wasn't any good at thanking people, but maybe this will do…" And with that he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers tenderly, electricity flying through the air as his aura began to form. Breaking away slowly and reluctantly, Harry raised his eyes to look back into Estella's as they fluttered open. Smiling softly he took her hand in his and turned towards the rest of the shocked party. Only Helen and Sirius looked unsurprised and simply smiled knowingly as the two approached with glowing smiles.

Fred and George were the first to react, whistling cat calls and stomping their feet, causing Harry and Estella to blush. Hermione smiled at him and raised an eyebrow while Ron joined in with the twins, slapping Harry on the back before the rest of the group started up the party, turning on music and breaking out brooms for a few games. Even playing chaser, Harry was unrivaled in Quidditch, as the flight training had honed his skills into near flawless precision. The adults stood nearby discussing modern events, including the incident at the World Cup, while Dumbledore had left early, retiring to his work preparing for the new year. Ginny, Hermione and Estella stood under one of the Quidditch hoops, gossiping and giggling as only females can.

As the night drew to a close Harry stood conversing with Ron and Hermione while Estella and Ginny chased Fred and George around with fake wands they had found in the box marked "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

"So… you and Estella?" Hermione said with a smile, causing Harry to blush and look away inadvertently towards Estella who smiled and waved before going back to tickling Fred and George with Ginny.

"Yeah," he said airily, still looking at Estella. "She's great isn't she?"

"I don't know mate," Ron joined in, "just make sure she can cook because women aren't worth much if they can't cook."

"RON!" Hermione shouted, turning on the tall redhead furiously. "Just because you're completely clueless about women doesn't give you the right to insult us or attempt to corrupt Harry with your stupidity." Harry chuckled softly to himself as the two began arguing again, knowing that to attempt to break it up was both futile and dangerous.

Hedwig suddenly took off from her perch by Sirius's cabin and opened the owl window to let in a brown Barn Owl that glided down to Harry and dropped a letter into his outstretched hand before departing through the same window. Seeing the Gringotts seal on the letter, Harry assumed it was the date of his court date.

_To Harry James Potter,_

_Gringotts Wizard Bank is proud to inform you of the transferring of the Potter Family Vault and the account holdings to your ownership. As the sole beneficiary, we request for you to attend a hearing tonight at 1700 hrs in which we will conclude this transfer and update you on your family holdings and assets. We hope to thank you for your families continued dependency on our bank and hope you maintain your business with the goblin community._

_Our Sincerest Condolences,_

_Ragnuk XI_

_Goblin King_

_Gringotts Owner_

Harry was shocked, along with the rest of the group that had all come to read the letter, to find that the goblin king had contacted him directly and wondered if he would meet him directly. The party died out around 4 as the Weasley's went home and Hagrid and Lupin left together. When Sirius retired to his cabin to prepare for Harry's final week of training Helen told Harry that she would take him back home so he could dress for the hearing. When Estella asked if she could join them Harry agreed hurriedly, not wanting to have to attend the hearing alone.

Helen told them she'd drop them off at Harry's house while she went home to get ready herself. Estella picked up her dress from her house and brought them with her in hand to change in the bathroom while Harry put on his suit. When Harry finished he knocked on the bathroom door to check on Estella and she told him to come in.

"Could you zip me up please?" she asked when he opened the door cautiously, turning to reveal her bare back and pointing to the bottom of the seam to the zipper. Nodding nervously, Harry reached out shakily to zip up the dress, placing a hand on the small of her back to support her. When his hand brushed across the smooth skin of her back a shiver ran down his spine as he recalled their kiss from the afternoon. When he pulled the zipper to a close he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and could've sworn he heard the same come from Estella but when she turned around he lost his train of thought and decided he must have imagined it.

"M-maybe we should go downstairs… y-you know… to wait for Aunt Helen…" Harry stuttered nervously, the confidence he'd felt that afternoon having left him completely.

Smiling wickedly at him, Estella reached a hand behind him and shoved the door shut, causing Harry to gulp painfully as his eyes kept wandering towards the delightfully exposed cleavage of Estella's dress. Noticing the path Harry's eyes, Estella pushed her chest forward slightly and pushed herself into Harry, backing him into the door. Leaning in painfully slowly, she brought her hands up to rest on Harry's hardened pectorals, sliding them down his abdomen to the hem of his pants and untucked his shirt. A cold shiver passed through Harry as she slid her hand beneath the shirt, gliding them over his defined chest. Harry's throat tightened painfully as he attempted to swallow down his nervousness, not knowing whether to enjoy the feelings or worry. Not giving him a chance to decide, Estella pressed her mouth to his, tenderly at first but gradually increasing in fervor. Harry couldn't believe how incredibly soft Estella's lips were and could only think that he needed more of her and spun her around, placing her back against the door. Unable to separate himself from her for more than the time needed to switch positions, Harry crushed his lips back onto hers.

The passion of the kiss increased when Estella suddenly flicked her tongue out, as though requesting permission to enter his mouth. Obliging instantly, the two progressed to a raging battle, hands grabbing and caressing faces, clothes and hair as their kiss deepened. The eagerness of the kiss placed the two in a blissful ignorance of their surroundings as they focused only increasing their contact between one another by pressing into one another as forcefully as possible. Picking Estella up, Harry felt her wrap her legs around his waist and the increased friction drew him to near madness as he ground his hips into hers while grabbing her bum to support her. Her hands ran over his face and grabbed at his shirt while she moaned into his mouth, teasing him into frenzy when she ran her hands through his hair and then back up under his shirt. Her nails were beginning to dig into his skin but instead of being painful as he had expected them to, the feeling merely arousing him further.

Suddenly the doorbell rang downstairs, causing the couple to spring apart, breathing heavily as their eyes focused. Noticing for the first time the effect of their enthusiastic moment of infatuation, the duo burst into laughter. Estella's hair was stuck up and frizzed out in extraordinary angles and Harry's already unruly hair was, incredibly, messier. Harry's shirt was in disarray with various buttons undone and Estella's dress was bunched up high on her thighs, causing her knickers to peek out beneath them.

"You know," Harry began as he caught his breath, "I think I'm going to have to zip you up more often." At this Estella broke into another fit of giggles as she fixed her dress.

Quickly fixing his shirt and attempting unsuccessfully to tame his hair with his hand, Harry raced downstairs to give Estella a little more time to fix herself up.

The trip to Gringotts was uneventful and Harry soon found himself seated in a large private business room at the head of a long table with Estella and Helen to his right. An elderly looking goblin soon walked in and placed a formidable stack of papers at on the table before taking a seat across from Harry.

"Mr. Potter," the goblin began, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Ragnuk XI, current king of the goblins and the president of this fine establishment." Flashing his razor like teeth at Harry in an attempt at a smile, Ragnuk radiated with cunning and piercing intellect that Harry knew instinctively would be folly to challenge.

"I assure you, sir, that the pleasure is mine. I have heard a great deal about your impact on the relations between the wizard and goblin community and am in awe of your perseverance and endurance in the face of the unrelenting wizarding community. Oh and please, call me Harry."

Ragnuk smiled at this and opened the folder, clearly pleased at Harry's antics. "Well… Harry, I believe Mr. Black has already informed you of some of the amount of gold in your vault, correct?"

Harry had to pause for a moment as he registered the significance of the goblin king's words. Shock materialized on his face when he realized that Ragnuk had somehow managed to learn of Sirius's existence and he prepared to force the goblin into submission if need be in order to have him obliviated so as not to reveal their secret. "H-how did you? Who told you about-"

"I have my methods for knowing the undertakings of those with holdings in my bank and they are to remain secret as are the secrets of those who depend on the security of my facilities. I have no love for wizard politics or media so have no fear of your secrets being released for profit or any other such material gain. Those items are only needed in the wizard community and goblins have no such need for these trivial matters which is why we are so great at our jobs. We care only for the respect we feel is deserved to us as a race and for our contributions to this society."

Still stunned at the revelation of Ragnuk's knowledge of Sirius, Harry merely nodded, deciding he felt Ragnuk was trustworthy despite his cunning appearance. "So what is left to do in the procedures, sir?"

"Well I have here the files describing the contents of your vaults in greater detail as well as the investments your family has made over the years. The goblin that currently holds the key of your personal vault is also your private investor. He makes the best decisions he sees fit for your assets to produce their maximum income for you. If you wish, you may continue to use him for these positions or you may request a new private investor. If I may, however, I would like to recommend that you continue use of your current goblin investor, as he is one of the best we have."

"You mean Griphook?" Harry asked, remembering the name the goblin had given him on their first encounter. "Yes I believe he has done a superb job so far and would be honored if he would continue to assist my family."

"I'm impressed," Ragnuk said approvingly, regarding Harry with new interest. "Most wizards of your stature have little respect for our race and often don't feel the need to even remember our names. I shall inform him of your answer immediately following these proceedings. Now to finish the transfer of your accounts into your name you merely need to sign these forms of verification with a blood quill, which uses your blood as the ink in order to verify your lineage and right to the holdings. As well as these verification forms, your parents set up an immediate emancipation upon your turning 14 and receiving your vault. This emancipation removes the tracker that accompanies minors before they come of age and allows you to use magic without fear of retribution unless used irresponsibly or in ways breaking wizard law. The details of this emancipation are also in your folder so if you sign your papers the procedures will be complete."

Signing the papers quickly so as to finish the process and head back home, Harry headed out to Diagon Alley with Helen and Estella. The trio glanced around at various shops, enjoying the end of Harry's exciting birthday with laughter and sweets. Despite enjoying his time with Helen and Estella, Harry could have sworn he was being followed, as several times he noticed a woman in the crowd gazing at him curiously with a pen and paper in hand and also by a man who always happened to disappear around corners whenever Harry turned around, yet whom Harry managed to glance watching him through reflections. Something about the man's eyes seemed familiar yet Harry couldn't manage to think of where he'd seen them. Before he could question either of his odd stalker's, Estella distracted him pleasantly with a kiss and Harry decided to put it off until later.

As the group finished their expedition around Diagon Alley, Harry took a shortcut Ron had shown him back to the Leaky Cauldron through a few unused walkways. Laughing with Estella about Helen's clumsiness when not dancing, Harry failed to notice a figure emerge from the shadows in front of them until the wand was drawn and Harry heard a rough voice muttering a spell. Green light flooded the pathway and illuminated the figure as it raced towards them, revealing the man with the familiar eyes. Suddenly Harry remembered exactly where he'd seen them and froze in shock as the spell headed towards him.

They were the eyes he'd seen in Estella's window…

A/N Again R/R, hope you enjoyed it. Any suggestions or requests you have I will take into consideration. Thank you for your support!


	7. Home At Last

A/N I'm really sorry that it took so long for this chapter to get out. I've had a ton of makeup work to finish, 2 makeup tests that I took today, and a final I've been studying for that's on Thursday. Then I've been practicing for my church solo and speaking with book publishers about publishing my real story. It's still a work in progress but I hope to have it published within a year and I'll make certain to post the name on here for you all to go check it out. Thank you for your patience though, and now without further ado, I give thee…

Chapter 7: Home At Last

The bright green light streaked towards Harry and Estella yet he was unable to move, immobilized by the shock of being attacked by someone Estella clearly knew. "NO, STOP! HARRY!" Estella's voice abruptly broke Harry's trance and he leapt into action, activating his Gift of speed with seconds to spare. Harry pushed his arms outwards and knocked Helen and Estella out of the line of fire. Despite his decreased perception of time, Harry still couldn't move out of the crossfire and instead leaned back until his back was nearly parallel to the ground, allowing the curse to pass harmlessly above him. A second red spell followed the first and Harry would have easily avoided it had it not split into multiple smaller pieces that spread in a shotgun-like spread. Flipping into the air, Harry spun and wove between the slender red streaks, though one spell still managed to slice through his left forearm like a knife, leaving a deep cut that began to bleed profusely. Ignoring the pain, Harry began sprinting towards the man at his incredible speeds, weaving from side to side to create illusions and causing the man to back into the wall as he attempted to attack the correct form. Suddenly, Harry appeared in front of him striking out with his right palm and slamming it into the man's ribcage, feeling it cave in as the man as lifted from the ground. Slamming into the wall, the man slid to ground with his head slumped forward, unconscious.

_Oh Merlin, please don't be dead, please don't be dead._ Despite the man's actions, Harry was terrified that he might have killed him as he had meant only to disable him in self defense.

Footsteps rushed up behind him and he whirled around, wary of another attacker, yet it was Estella running up to the man. Placing her head on his chest, she proceeded to check for a pulse. The worried look she wore showed that she was concerned for the man for personal reasons, as though she knew him. That was when Harry remembered that he'd seen those eyes in Estella's house and backed away apprehensively. Turning to look at Helen he saw that she gazed upon the scene with sadness and Harry wondered if she knew the man as well.

Looking back, Harry saw Estella sigh in relief and look up at Harry with an unexpected rage. The electric blue of her eyes flashed as she stalked towards Harry, looking as though she meant to strangle him.

"What the HELL, were you thinking!" She shrieked at him furiously. "You could have killed him!"

Harry stared back in incredulity, anger rising in him as he shook with the remnants of the adrenaline still in his body. "_I _could have killed _HIM!_ He attacked us and I've seen that spell before in my… my nightmares about how my parents died. It's the _Avada Kedavra_ curse."

Helen stepped in suddenly, stepping in between the two as she spoke. "Actually Harry, although the two curses look very similar, the curse David used was a darker shade than the _Avada Kedavra_ curse. It's actually an immobilizing spell as the curse changes to vines upon impact and wrap around the target."

At this, Harry flushed embarrassedly, although he still couldn't understand Estella's anger and then a thought came to him. "Wait a minute… How did you know his name was David?" He asked Helen, not suspiciously but confused about this sudden turn in events.

Estella answered instead of Helen, answering calmly, "Because he's my brother."

The group took David's still unconscious form back to Estella's home and went inside. The home was fairly nice, with a polished wooden staircase in the entrance flanked by curving hallways that led to various parts of the home. Setting David on a couch, Helen drew her wand and muttered, _"Alleviate._" David stirred slowly and then leapt to his feet, hand reaching for his pocket to draw his wand which Harry had already confiscated. Slowly, David stopped looking about in panic as he realized where he was and locked his eyes on Estella and Helen.

"How do you feel?" Estella asked concernedly, cautiously reaching forward to check for damage as if approaching a wild animal. David merely stared at her without answering and allowed her to check for any injuries. Thankfully, Helen had already healed his ribs as the break had been clean and fairly easy to merge back into place.

When Estella completed her checkup of him, David turned to survey the room and finally saw Harry standing in the corner watching him warily. David's eyes flashed and once again he reached towards his pocket instinctively, forgetting again that his wand was no longer in his possession. Harry's hand twitched towards his own wand, preparing to defend himself, but David seemed to realize he was at a disadvantage yet he remained tense and kept his eyes on Harry.

"David, it's ok," Helen said suddenly, attempting to break the ice. "Harry's a friend; he's the one we told you about that Estella's helping with his training. He's not you enemy." Helen spoke in a soothing voice as though calming a wild animal.

David waited for a moment before responding gravely, "Stay away from my sister boy, and I will spare your life." His voice was hoarse and raspy, as though his throat was parched and he had neglected to quench his thirst.

Harry's eyes narrowed at this and he rose to his full height and advanced slowly on David. "You try to kill me and almost hurt Estella as well and you have the nerveto tell _me_ to stay away? Oh no, let me explain how this is going to work. You're going to stay the hell away from me and you're going to keep your nose out of your business or you'll be the one whose life needs sparing. Do I make myself clear?" By now Harry's aura was beginning to seep from his pores, casting him into a golden glow as he glowered down at David. Displaying extraordinary poise, David stood his ground in the face of Harry's anger, though this only seemed to anger Harry further.

"You think you're special because you defeated Voldemort, but your luck won't last forever. Someone's going to put you in check someday soon and I hope I'm there to see it." David sneered at Harry and left without another word, his cloak billowing behind him. The air seemed to crackle in suspense but Harry's aura died down slowly and he sat down heavily.

Estella was looking after David in shock, opening her mouth as if to call after him but deciding better of it and instead spoke to Harry. "I-I've never seen him act that way. He's normally so peaceful. And I'm really sorry about what I said Harry, it's just… He's the only family I have and I couldn't bear it if I lost him too." Estella looked on the verge of tears and Harry came over to comfort her, wrapping her in his arms and allowing her to put her head in his chest as she cried softly.

As she collected herself, Harry wiped her tears from her cheek and kissed her, letting her know he had already forgiven her. When they parted, Helen decided that everyone had had enough excitement for the day and they bid Estella goodnight. "This was still the greatest birthday of my life," Harry whispered to her as he hugged her goodbye. "Even your brother couldn't change that."

Helen dropped him off at home with a parting smile and he headed to his room with his presents, dropping them to the side as he plopped down. Lying back on, Harry smiled to himself. "Only on my birthday," he said to himself before closing his eyes and slipping into sleep.

The week went by smoothly, although Harry felt it was over too soon. On Wednesday he'd gone with Estella to Diagon Alley to purchase his schoolbooks and met up with Ron, Hermione and Ginny on the way. Sirius and Big Rob had decided to give Harry his last day off and they'd all embarrassed themselves when they drank too much butterbeer and began blasting music. Big Rob had begun dancing on a table while Harry and Estella cheered him on. The dance didn't last long, however, as the table collapsed under Big Rob's tremendous weight. Standing up looking sheepish, his faced turned bright red as Harry and Estella collapsed with laughter.

When Big Rob and Estella began square dancing to some corny Country music, Harry sat back and admired Estella's beauty. Her smile seemed to glow as she threw her head back and laughed pleasantly. Smiling to himself, Harry thought he couldn't believe how much his luck had changed. _Maybe things won't turn out so badly for me after all_, he thought to himself.

Familiar footsteps sounded behind him as Sirius approached. It was funny how much Sirius continued to move as though he were still in his canine form, gracefully primal. "You've really got something special in her kid," Sirius said as he took a seat next to Harry. "You know, your father would be so proud of you. To see how great a young man you've become even with your hard childhood is truly something. You remind me of myself and while I'm not proud of everything I've done I have no doubts that you'll exceed everything your parents and I accomplished. You're like a son to me and while I know I'll never replace your true father, I hope that I can be half the man he was."

Tears welled up in Harry's eyes and he turned to find Sirius wiping his eyes as well. They looked at one another for a moment in silent understanding, words unable to express the torment of love the two felt for one another. Estella suddenly rushed over with Helen and the two grabbed Harry and Sirius and they danced together, enjoying one another's company.

The day was filled with mirth and entertainment but as the day came to the close Harry was reluctant to leave. A new chapter of his life began in this studio and for the first time he was reluctant to head back to Hogwarts. Seeing his distressed expression, Helen gave him a reassuring smile and promised he could come back and stay with her on his breaks. With this news Harry managed to force himself into the car back home with a final glance back. Seeing Estella sitting in the car smiling back at him was all the motivation he needed to make his mind up and he hopped in next to her, pulling her close and letting her rest on his shoulder.

The following morning, Harry was found rushing around packing his bag frantically. When Estella rang the doorbell he rushed past and flung the door open without breaking stride as he raced to find Hedwig's cage. Estella looked at him smugly for a moment before reaching behind the door and bringing his cage to view. Raising his hands in exasperation with himself he grabbed it and gave her a quick kiss before hastening up the stairs to bundle the remainder of his belongings into his bag.

The Dursley's stood crowded at a doorway at the top of the stairs looking at him in disgust but they managed to hold their tongues to Harry's surprise. He'd told them he was having someone else take him to the station and the look in their eyes clearly stated, _good riddance._ In truth, Helen was parked around the corner and when Harry finally managed to stuff his remaining clothes and books into his bags without crushing his wand he dragged his bag outside and he and Estella met Helen at the car.

Taking in Harry's disheveled hair and his panted breathing, Helen laughed aloud and shook her head. "You didn't pack last night like I told you did you?" Harry blushed and Helen laughed again before pulling off towards the station.

The train station was busy as customary and Harry guided Estella to Platform 9 ¾. He'd given Estella some of the details the previous day but she still looked as apprehensive as he had the first time he'd been told to walk into the wall. "Don't worry baby, I'm right here with you. Here," he said as he held out his hand. "I'll help you through." Grabbing his hand firmly, they rushed towards the wall and she squealed slightly right before impact and closed her eyes, opening them to find herself standing on the bustling station of Platform 9 ¾ with an amused Harry smiling down at her.

Moving to the side, they allowed Helen to enter behind them so they could say goodbye before boarding the train. Entering the platform, Helen looked up at the train and then sadly back down at Harry and Estella. A tear rolled down her cheek as she enveloped them in both in a bear hug. "I don't know what I'll do without you two," she said with a slight smile as she pulled back to admire them.

"Oh don't cry Aunt Helen," Harry said worriedly. "You still have Sirius to keep you company, and you can invite Big Rob over anytime you want a ridiculous weight lifted or a table broken." Helen smiled at that and wrapped Harry back in a final parting hug.

"You take care of him now," she said to Estella. "He may think he's tough but, I've seen him cry as a baby so trust me, I know, it's just a front." Harry blushed at this and Estella looked back up at Helen determinedly.

"Oh don't worry, I'll keep good care of him. I won't let him out of my sight." Helen seemed to sigh in relief, knowing Estella would watch out for Harry in her stead.

"Well go on you two," Helen said suddenly, wiping her face and pushing the two towards the train with a gentle shove. "I can't have you getting into trouble already. I don't want to even think about what would happen if you tried that flying car stunt again with Estella next to you Harry." The last bit she said with a chuckle as Harry blushed again while Estella looked on in confusion.

"Goodbye, Aunt Helen," Harry said as he backed towards the train, "I'll you when we get there." And with that he and Estella boarded the train and headed down the slim aisle. Locating Ron, Ginny, and Hermione swiftly in a compartment they'd managed to commandeer to themselves, they stored their bags and prepared for the trip to Hogwarts.

The girls sat on one side of the compartment whispering and giggling amongst one another, as was only natural, while Harry and Ron traded stories about the goings on of their respective summers. Not long before they arrived at Hogwarts and as soon as the group settled into a peaceful silence, yelling was heard from outside their compartment and Harry and Ron went to check out the disturbance.

Draco Malfoy and his goons were standing in the hallway sneering at Neville Longbottom whom was pinned against a wall by Crabbe and Harry groaned inwardly. _How does he always manage to get himself into trouble? _"What was that Longbottom?" Draco was saying. "You wanted to give me your cart money? Well if you insist…" Reaching towards Neville's pocket, he jumped slightly when Ron rushed out.

"Drop him Malfoy!" Ron said while pushing Crabbe's hand away. "Go grease up someone else's corner, or better yet, find your own corner and go screw yourself."

Draco regained his usual sneer swiftly as he composed himself. "Well if it isn't 'Too Poor to Breathe My Air' Weasley. I heard your disgrace of a father is having a bit of trouble keeping his job after Rita Skeeter reported his little screw up with the press at the World Cup. Though I don't suppose you can expect someone of his… class to know any better I suppose." Ron lunged at Malfoy but Harry grabbed his collar and pulled him back before Crabbe and Goyle could get hold of him. Malfoy looked slightly disappointed not to see Ron get pummeled but simply turned his attention to Harry. "So Potter, another summer locked away with those muggles eh? You should've stayed with them where you belong. Though I hear we're getting some fresh meat from your area. My father hears about all new transfers in advance because of his position on the _board._ What's her name, Isabella? I think it's about time for me to find a new toy to play with, maybe I-"

Draco never finished his sentence as Harry activated his Gift and charged him, smashing his fist into Draco's jaw and sending him flying before Draco even realized he'd moved. Crabbe and Goyle blinked in confusion as they tried to process what had just happened, turning to look at Draco groaning on the floor and then back at Harry. Not giving them chance to respond, Harry rammed their heads together and let them fall to the floor. Grabbing Malfoy by the collar, he dragged him to his feet and slammed his back into a compartment, causing people to come outside to see what the commotion was about. Onlookers stared in awe as they took in the scene, seeing Crabbe and Goyle lying unconscious on the ground and Harry holding Draco up against the compartment door as Ron looked on in wonder.

"Her name is Estella, Draco, and if you ever disrespect her or my friends again next time you won't be let off so easily. Stay away from her and I won't have to hurt you because honestly, you're not worth my time." Tossing Draco aside onto Crabbe and Goyle like a sack of potatoes, Harry walked over to the open compartment where Estella was shaking her head and him.

"Was all that _really_ necessary?" she asked him when he approached. "I mean couldn't you have given him a warning or something at least." Her voice was stern yet the smile on her face showed that she was actually pleased at his efforts. Kissing her in reply, Harry dragged the still gaping Ron back into the compartment.

Sitting down next to Estella, he allowed her to snuggle into him, leaving Ron still standing in shock at the doorway. "H-how the bloody hell did you just do that?" Ron exclaimed suddenly. "I mean you were like, whoosh, and then it was all, bam, bam, POW! And then you just picked him up and… I mean… whoa." The compartment burst into laughter as Ron finished his attempted description of the events in the aisle and he joined in when he realized how ridiculous he'd sounded.

Regaining his composure, Harry replied to Ron, amusement still lining his voice. "It's a… long story. I'll tell you all about it at the feast but for now I think we should get dressed." He said this while pointing out the window and everyone turned to see the magnificent view. Estella gasped gleefully and pressed her face to the glass as she peered outside. Hogwarts loomed magnificently in the distance, light twinkling on the windows as brightly as the eyes of a certain headmaster.

_I'm home_, Harry thought to himself contentedly, wrapping his arms around Estella and enjoying the view with her, smiling at the thought of the year to come.

_I'm home…_

A/N Well! Hope you enjoyed this latest installment of _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire My Version_. Please review and give me all the lovely feedback I know you've been dying to tell me. Also... We just reached 4,000 hits! I'm glad everyone's seemed to take such a liking to this story and I hope I don't disappoint. Once again, suggestions are welcome and will each be considered with an open mind.


	8. The Triwizard Tournament

A/N Don't even ask why I've been gone so long, just accept the fact that I'm back and that I will be (hopefully) much more active now than ever.

Disclaimer: Its all J.K. Rowling's, I just tweaked it a tad.

Chapter 8: The Triwizard Tournament

The companions walked together to the carriages as they took in the awe inspiring view of Hogwarts looming in the distance under the moon of the werewolves. Harry in particular took especial joy at seeing his favorite building in the world so close at hand. When Estella's hand stiffened in his he glanced at her, expecting to see her eyes dancing in excitement but what he saw caused his elation to dissipate as concern took its place. Estella's eyes were filled with horror.

"Babe?" He asked, the worry evident in his voice. "What's wrong? Did you see something?" Pulling his wand out, he lucked for any sort of threat, moving in front of her unconsciously. Following her gaze, he realized that they'd made it to the carriages but noticed that she wasn't looking directly at them, rather at the space in front of them. Perplexed he looked back at her and then back to the direction of her gaze but still could see nothing.

The others had noticed the two had stopped and came back to determine the cause of the delay. "What's wrong with her?" Ron asked bluntly before quailing beneath the glare Harry shot his way.

Finally she spoke, her voice hoarse with fear. "The demonic pegasi! How could they let those evil things on the grounds!"

Now Harry was truly baffled, as he turned around and still saw nothing but before he could question her further Hermione interrupted. "You see the thestrals?"

"Would someone explain what the hell is going on here!" Ron yelled, finally unable to contain himself any longer.

Hermione sighed as if asking herself why she associated with such uneducated wizards. "Thestrals are the invisible winged horse-like creatures that pull the carriages. To see them one must have witnessed death. So I guess my real questions are who's death have you seen and where have you seen thestrals before?" When panic briefly registered in Estella's eyes Hermione's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her, awaiting an answer.

"You don't have to answer that, Estella," Harry told her as he glared daggers at Hermione.

"It's okay Harry," Estella replied as she collected herself. Turning to address Hermione, she took a deep breath to steady herself. "Harry may have told you that my brother had to take care of you due to my parents' passing. Well while we were on the run from the Ministry we holed up in a barn. One night a man attempted to steal one of the demon peg - thestrals, my brother could see them while I could not, and was caught. The owner cast a body bind on the man and put him in a food trough before telling the thestrals to eat up. I couldn't turn away as I saw what looked to be a man being eaten alive by the air around him but when he finally died I could see the cause of his suffering for what it truly was and dove into a pile of hay to muffle my screams."

As she finished her story the group was watching her in a mix of horror and sympathy, though Hermione continued to watch her distrustfully before turning away. "Well the thestrals here are completely harmless," Hermione said as she boarded the carriage. "It's only the rare case of specialized training that causes them to attack humans and even then it's generally only when allowed to do so." Taking her lead, the rest of the Ron and Ginny hopped on, noticing that they were being left behind by the other carriages.

"I'm sorry for that," Harry told Estella as he held her comfortingly. "Sometimes Hermione lets her inquisitive side get the best of her and she doesn't think about others' feelings."

"It's fine," she replied, looking up to give him a slight smile. "No harm done, though you're friends might have our heads if we don't hurry up. Ron especially looks like he'll kill if he misses even a second of the feast." Together the two made their way to the carriage, Estella still wary of the thestrals as she slowly climbed in, eyes glued to the thestrals. With everyone on board the carriage started forward to the castle and the exhilaration of returning crept back into their spirits.

Pulling up to the castle, Estella separated from the group to join the first years being sorted while the others continued on to the Gryffindor tables. Seating themselves for the feast they met up with Fred and George though they refused to sit directly next to them as they had seen the effects of some of their "experiments" and wouldn't put it past the two to slip something in their food. Ron was all but pleading with the tables to procure the feast and would've begun gnawing on the wood had he not been distracted by Dumbledore procuring the Sorting Hat for the new students.

After a seemingly unending line of new students to the hungry witches and wizards, Estella stepped forth to be sorted last of all as she was not the traditional first year student,. Harry, prepared for applause for the call to Gryffindor that he felt was sure to come, was nearly out of his seat before she even sat down. His eyes wild with anticipation he was greatly worried when he saw a look of utter distress pass over Estella's face and saw her mouth moving animatedly almost in argument with the hat, not unlike his own experience with the confounded chapeau. If it didn't put her in Gryffindor he swore he would sew its mouth shut magically, but it seemed his fears were unfounded as Estella's shoulders relaxed and she sighed in relief moments before the hat bellowed out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

As she arrived at the table, Harry enveloped her in a crushing embrace causing her to giggle and slap at him playfully. "What happened up there?" he asked as he released her reluctantly. "You had me a little worried when you started arguing with him...her... it or whatever."

"Oh... it just wanted to put me in another house and I couldn't allow that," she replied softly, looking down as though ashamed of something, causing Hermione to stare at her suspiciously again.

"What house did it want to put you in?" Hermione asked coolly.

Surprised by the question, Estella stuttered a bit before replying, "Oh, well... umm... it wanted to put me in Hufflepuff because of my... loyalty and hard working habits." Hermione looked skeptical at this reply but Ron's guffaw of laughter through 3 servings of food cut her off.

"Well that explains why you looked like someone had their foot up you're arse," Ron joked crudely, causing everyone to laugh but Hermione, who just looked at him reproachfully but refrained from comment. "So Harry, you never did tell how the hell you did that stuff on the train. Are you taking that muggle roads drug? Because if you are I want some."

Laughing, Harry shook his head before correcting him. "First Ron, their "ste 'roids," not "ste 'roads" and secondly no, I'm not, I've been training with Sirius and my aunt." Rather than go on, he paused to take in all the bewildered expressions, chuckling at the sight.

"Honestly Harry, now while I admit Ron's theory was entirely ridiculous, I'm inclined to believe that you're taking steroids rather than that you've been training with a godfather who's in hiding and an aunt who hates you..."

At this Harry laughed before relenting and proceeded to tell them all about the hidden truth of his Aunt Helen and of the training that he had gone through over that past summer. Their enthralled faces went through several changes that Harry found most humorous as they altered from shock, to awe, to horror (at his Uncle's treatment of him) and back to awe again. When he finally finished, the rest of the Great Hall was finishing up with dinner while his table had hardly eaten a bite (except for Ron, who put food above all else), so enthralled in his story had they been.

"So they made you take dancing lessons?" Ron scoffed at him when he finished. "I bet that was torture, eh mate?"

"I love how that's all you got out of his story, Ron" Ginny said. "Though I doubt he was too upset, considering who his dance partner was..." she finished, looking over at Estella with a touch of envy. At this Estella blushed, causing Harry to grin and slip his hand into hers. Before he could respond though, the tables magically cleared and Dumbledore rang a bell to sound for silence in the Hall.

"So! Now that we are all fed and watered," he began in his powerful, yet tender voice, "I must once more ask for your attention while I give out a few notices. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming yo-yo's, Fanged Frisbees and Ever Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises of some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

"Why don't you just ban the two of us from school too!" Fred yelled from his spot at the table.

"Hear, hear!" George added over the laughter.

Dumbledore merely smiled at the interruption and continued on. "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the Forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all those below third year." "It is also my painful duty to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." At this, an explosion of protestations emerged from outraged students, particularly from Fred and George who were now standing on the benches yelling out a stream of insults directed towards Snape, accusing him of disrupting the sport because he was tired of losing.

When the clamor finally subsided, Dumbledore continued. "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up the teachers' table.

A dull _clunk_ echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the table, turned right and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any Harry had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering words Harry couldn't hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to an empty seat on his right-hand side.

"'May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody." Dumbledore said as though the man's entrance was a normal, planned occasion.

It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed with Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

"Moody?" Harry muttered to Ron. "_Mad-Eye Moody?_"

"Must be," said Ron in a low, awed voice"

"What happened to him?" Hermione whispered. "What happened to his _face_?"

"Dunno," Ron whispered back, watching Moody with total fascination.

Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached into his traveling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Harry saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, we are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly as Harry and Ron looked at each other quizzically.

The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..."

Professor McGonnagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Er - but maybe this is not the time... no..." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament... well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who _do_ know will forgive me fir giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued."

"_Death toll?_" Hermione whispered, looking alarmed. But her anxiety did not seem to be shared by the majority of students in the Hall; many of them were whispering excitedly to one another, and Harry himself was far more interested in hearing about the tournament than in worrying about deaths that had happened hundreds of years ago.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to re-instate the Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which have been very successful. However, our own Departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that, this time, no champion will himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred Weasley hissed down the table, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. He was not the only person who seemed to be visualizing himself as the Hogwarts champion. At every house table, Harry could see people either gazing raptly at Dumbledore, or else whispering fervently to their neighbors. But then Dumbledore spoke again, and the Hall quieted once more.

"Eager though I know you all will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose and age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are in fourth year or above will be allowed to enter the tournament. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October, and remaining with us for a greater part of this year. I know that you will extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

As they all moved towards the doors, Fred and George joined the group, their faces portraying their immense anticipation for the coming of the tournament. "Guess you squirts just made the cut," George said as he clapped Harry and Ron on the shoulder. "So you planning on entering?"

"I most certainly will _not_," Hermione said, voice laced with worry. "Did any of you hear about the _death toll _Dumbledore mentioned or were you only paying attention the the eternal glory and reward galleons part." At their quizzical glances she huffed in frustration. "People have _died!_"

"Ya, we got that Hermione," Ron said, "but that was hundreds of years ago! And you heard Dumbledore, they've ensured that no one will be in 'mortal danger' so there's nothing to worry about."

"Well the school is supposed to keep us out of 'mortal danger' too but in just 3 years we've fought a troll, gone through a death maze to stop Quirrel, Harry fought a _basilisk_, and also faced dementors! I think wizards and their ideas of safe are about as reliable as you're broken wand Ron."

Most of the boys just rolled their eyes, while Estella tried to sympathize with her. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'm sure everything will be fine. Besides, all of those times you were on you're own, this time there will be teachers and Dumbledore to watch over the champions. As a matter of fact... I was thinking about trying out myself..." At this Harry turned sharply in shock.

"You what!" he blurted out in surprise. "No! Its too dangerous, I don't want you getting hurt." At this Estella pulled away from him indignantly.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" she asked him, clearly annoyed. "You think because I'm a girl that its too dangerous now? I didn't see you trying to agree with Hermione a second ago but now all of a sudden its 'dangerous'?" Fred and George watched the exchange with amusement, shaking a finger at Harry in mock sternness until Estella shot them a glare.

Sputtering, Harry tried to recover from his blunder but found himself unable to find a proper response. Huffing, Estella spun on her heel and walked through the portrait entrance that a prefect had given the password to moments earlier. Looking sheepish, Harry groaned and thrust his hands in his pocket, looking down in embarrassment.

"Well... look at the time!" Ginny said, cutting into the ensuing awkward silence. With an exaggerated yawn, she arched her back in a stretch. "Guess I ought to be getting to bed. Gnite all!" Following Estella into the common room she rushed up the girls' stairs to her dorm.

Patting Harry on the back, Hermione followed her lead, deciding the lecture on the danger of the tournament could wait. With the girls gone, the guys walked up to their dorm, each daydreaming of the glory the tournament would bring and of what they could do with the galleons if they won. Harry sighed to himself, wondering how he would fix his foul up with Estella as he changed into his pajamas. Laying back on his bed, he thought of the possibility of winning the tournament. A smile crossed his face as he imagined Estella looking at him proudly as he came out victorious. That image remained in his mind as he drifted off to sleep, oblivious to the man sitting in the shadows with a wooden leg and a rotating eye...

A/N Thank you for continuing to read my story, hope you enjoyed the chapter. The portion with Dumbledore's speech is almost word for word from the book, I just tweaked the age limit part for something special I have planned. Hope you enjoyed and as always REVIEW! Peaces...


	9. The Amazing Bouncing Ferret

A/N Sorry I'm a little late on updating than I had originally planned but its in and I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Harry Potter, I just add to the legend.

Chapter 9: The Amazing Bouncing Ferret

The next morning, Harry and Ron went down to the Great Hall with Neville, realizing that the girls had already gone down without them. Reaching the Hall, they picked up their schedules and met the girls at their table, finding Hermione and Ginny eating with some of the other Gryffindor girls.

"Where's Estella?" Harry asked as he reached for some bread, worried that she was still upset with him.

"She got a letter asking to see her in Professor Moody's room," Hermione answered, looking up from the book in her lap. "I thought maybe he wanted to check her proficiency being a new student and all. Maybe he'd want to tutor her if she needed catching up." This possibility clearly didn't sit well with Hermione, as they heard a touch of envy in her voice at the thought of another student getting private lessons from a teacher.

"I guess she'll just have to tell us herself," Harry said, also wondering at the reason for Moody wanting to visit with Estella. His hunger won out over his curiosity though, and he began to eat in earnest, nearly matching Ron in the speed he went through plates.

Moments later, Estella appeared coming in through the Great Hall and Harry waved at her to sit with them. As she neared the table Harry noticed how pale her face was and how wobbly her legs seemed. Rushing to her in his worry, he put an arm around her waist and held out a hand to steady her.

"Estella?" Harry began tentatively. "Are... are you ok?"

"Of course I'm okay!" she answered boorishly, pushing him away as she did so. Harry stood there with a forced blank expression on his features, clearly trying to hide the anger and hurt at her reaction. Looking back, she read the wounded look in his eyes and softened, immediately regretting her actions. "Oh Harry, I'm so sorry," she said, going back to embrace him, "I'm just a little upset over my talk with Moody."

At her apology, Harry tenderly kissed her cheek and finished walking her to the table before asking, "So what happened that caused you to be so upset?"

"Umm..." she began, looking nervous. "He... he just asked me to perform some magic that was a little more... complex than I'm used to..."

"Well don't worry about what that loony old coot tells you," Ron said with a snort. "Mad as a hatter he is."

Hermione cut him a glare. "He's still a professor Ron and you're supposed to treat him respectfully." Ron shrugged off her reproach and kept eating.

"So what classes do we have for today?" Harry asked to break the awkward silence.

"Herbology with the 'Puffs and Care of Magical Creatures with, oh great, Slytherin," Ron declared as he read the Monday column for his schedule.

Checking his own, Harry groaned as he saw Double Divination filling up his afternoon. "Wonder how many times my death will be predicted today," Harry said sarcastically. When Estella looked at him quizzically he continued. "Professor Trelawney has an annoying habit of declaring that everything about me is some omen of death."

"You should have dropped it like I did," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Divination is all just a bunch of rubbish."

"It's not as rubbish as you might think..." Estella mumbled under her breath, looking at Harry, not noticing Hermione looking at her with narrowed eyes as she overheard the statement.

Before she could comment, however, the Great Hall was filled with the sound of fluttering wings as owls arrived bringing letters and packages to the students. Harry, used to being one of the only ones not to receive anything for his first day back just watched as the forgetful students like Neville received the items the left behind and as other students read through letters from their parents wishing them good luck. Sighing, Harry didn't notice the snowy white owl descending until it landed on his shoulder, dropping off a large package with two letters tied to it.

Looking at the letters quizzically, Harry's face lit up in excitement as he recognized the handwriting. "It's from Aunt Helen," he said excitedly, turning to Estella to share the news but the look on her face stopped him short. "You're brother didn't send you anything?" he asked her sympathetically, recognizing her look as one he was familiar to wearing at times like this.

Shaking her head, she sighed softly. "He's always written me anytime I have to go somewhere but lately he's been acting strange and now this... I just don't know if he's alright or not."

"Well..." Harry began cautiously, knowing how fragile Estella seemed to become when discussing her concerns with her brother. It was understandable though, as she had already lost her mother and father so the fear of having something happen to her last living relative was undoubtedly hard on her. "Perhaps we could send Helen over to check on him."

"No!" She yelled out, causing him to flinch back at her violent rejection of his suggestion. Several Gryffindors turned to see the cause of the commotion and she blushed, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry Harry, it's just that he's always been very isolated and hates contact. He's paranoid of almost everyone because of how many times people attempted to turn us over to the Ministry after promising to help us. He doesn't really trust much of the wizarding world anymore after so many obvious Death Eaters were set free on bogus claims of Imperius curses controlling them or of having no choice in the matter when in fact most of them merely bribed officials into releasing them." Her features twisted up in disgust at this and it was clear to Harry that she agreed with her brother to an extent.

"Well perhaps he did have to grow up faster than anyone should have to," Harry said sympathetically, "so perhaps all of these responsibilities are starting to have a negative affect on him. Maybe you could try talking him into trusting Helen enough to let her help him?"

"Maybe..." she consented reluctantly. "I'll send him a letter tonight, but for now lets get a look at what you're Aunt sent you."

Harry's face lit up again as he had forgotten his package in his concern for Estella. First he removed the letters and his smile widened when he saw who they were addressed to. "Look," he said, handing one to Estella, "you've got one too." Butterflies fluttered in his stomach when he saw the warm smile that appeared on her face.

Opening his letter, Harry read through it slowly to relish the feeling:

_Dear Harry,_

_I already miss having you and Estella here with me. It feels as though I've sent my own son off to school and while I know I can never replace you're true mother I hope that I can fill some of that void in you're life. Since you left, our "furry friend" (let's call him Snuffles for now) doesn't seem to know what to do with himself. He's taken to summoning training drones that he transfigures into looking like you so that he feels as though you two are sparring again. I'm sure he'll be fine but I'll make sure to keep an eye on him for you to keep him from doing anything foolish like trying to go see you. _

_In the package I sent you and Estella some treats to help you through you're first couple of weeks and Sirius put something special in there for you. Hope you enjoy it and remember that we love and miss you. Don't forget to write from time to time or the next letter I sent might be a Howler._

_With All Our Love,_

_Helen and Snuffles_

When he finished the letter he turned to Estella to make sure she was done as well before opening the package. Peering inside they found several individually homemade tarts and cakes in a compartment to the left which they found to have already been split up evenly. The middle compartment contained a box labeled for Estella and the box on the right was Harry's. Opening his package he found a bottle containing his muscle accelerator as well as a small notebook with a small note attached to it.

_Harry,_

_This book helped us a great deal in our getaways after pranks and for times that we just needed to be alone. Of course you wouldn't dream of following in our footsteps like that but I'm sure this will help you to continue with our training even though I won't be able to assist you myself. Hope you like it, and I hope you keep this to yourself as you have done with the Marauder's Map. Enjoy!_

_Snuffles_

Opening the notebook curiously, Harry found handwritten instructions labeled at the top as, "The Room of Requirement." The first few pages were notes that detailed the function of the room, which, in fact, seemed to be infinite as the room served to provide whatever service that the user required, hence the name. The next section held detailed instruction on how to get to the room and how to open it. Intrigued, Harry read on a little ways before remembering Estella and deciding to wait until later to read through it entirely.

Looking to Estella, he saw that her package contained a bottomless bag with a note attached to it similar to his. Turning to him, she told him that her bag contained her's and Harry's dance equipment and the letter told her that Harry had received a notebook that could lead them to a practice area. Noticing the large amount of students getting up to go to their morning classes, Harry promised to show her later and they finished their food before heading off with Ron and Hermione.

Herbology was first up and they spent the period completing the disgusting task of extracting pus from the Bubotuber plants that Madam Pomfrey assured was, despite it foulness, crucial to several important potions. Next they had to endure attempting to feed the blast-ended skrewts Hagrid had assigned them to raise. Almost everyone left with their clothes a bit singed from numerous hits taken from the skrewts and yet no one had managed to find a suitable food for them. Harry and Estella were the only ones who managed to avoid getting hit as their reflexes from training and fluidity from dancing helped them to avoid the blasts with ease, much to the annoyance of the Slytherins in particular.

Lunch provided a slight reprieve for others to nurse their wounds before Harry, Ron and Estella went to Divination while Hermione left for Arithmancy. Arriving at the top of the tower where the class took place. As they all took their seats, Harry and Estella talked for a minute before the misty voice of Professor Trelawney startled them from behind.

"Good day," she said, looking down at Harry with that same expression she always wore when she prepared to announce his death. Before she began, however, she seemed to notice Estella and her eyes widened in horror. "You, my dear, are in grave danger. Estella Adalmund is it?" Estella nodded somewhat fearfully. The room seemed to cool slightly as Trelawney continued, her eyes rolling up into her skull dramatically. "_The world rests on you're decision. Good intentions can lead to horrors worse than you had ever imagined. Sacrifices will be made and lives will be lost but the final outcome lies on you're shoulders..._" As she concluded Harry and Ron rolled their eyes while Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown looked on in awe and jealousy at Estella's "special attention" from Trelawney.

Trelawney looked oblivious to the looks she was receiving as she turned and walked to the front of the class, leaving Estella looking off into space in fear. Seeing the look in her eyes, Harry grabbed her hand comfortingly.

"It's just a load of rubbish, babe," He said reassuringly. "She's predicted my death every year and I'm still here aren't I? All she did was add a few theatrics a first year could've pulled off. Its just because you're a new student."

Nodding her head, Estella laughed softly, though it sounded forced even to her ears. "Er... yeah, of course it is. Don't know why I even bothered to listen to that."

The remainder of the class went by without further incident, other than two more prediction of Harry's death and a crude comment by Ron regarding _Ur_anus directed towards Lavender that landed them a massive stack of homework.

Meeting up with Hermione before heading to dinner, Ron grumbled more about the homework they'd been given while Hermione laughed about not having any. While on their way, Ron and Harry joked about Trelawney's prophecy, though Estella remained quiet as they spoke, as though lost in thought. Hermione looked at her quizzically but left the matter alone. Joining the line for dinner, they turned at the sound of a loud voice ringing behind them.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing there, each looking thoroughly pleased about something.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, brandishing a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and speaking very loudly so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. "Listen to this!

**FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, _writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. _Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.

Malfoy looked up.

"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed.

Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. Malfoy straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:

Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer _Daily Prophet_ questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such and undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.

"And there's the picture, Weasley!" said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house – if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of a weight, couldn't she?"

Ron was shaking with fury, and Harry could do nothing to calm him as his anger was just as great.

"Shove it, Malfoy," Estella said as she grabbed Harry and Ron's hands to lead them off.

Malfoy smirked at her menacingly before continuing. "Oh and my father told me _all _about you're mother, Adulmund." Estella stopped cold in her tracks, eyes widening at his words. "Yes, that's right, my father knew her before she... died." There was something in Malfoy's look that told them he knew exactly what had happened to her and they could guess the reason why. "She was almost as hideous as you, and she was a whiner too. Always begging and crying... up until she died."

Only Harry and Estella knew his hidden meaning behind the words, that her mother had begged and cried before they killed her, and in that instant neither of them could contain their anger. Lifting their wands, they prepared to unleash an onslaught of spells that would be sure to leave Malfoy crippled for life, to punish him for his words. But before they could release a single spell they heard two loud bangs and found their wands flying from their grips and into the outstretched hand of "Mad-Eye" Moody.

Looking at them curiously, with his good eye, they saw his lips turn up into a slight smile but it disappeared so swiftly they weren't sure if they imagined it or not. His fake eye suddenly whirled to the back of his head and he yelled out, turning swiftly. "LEAVE IT!" Crabbe had been in the middle of picking up a small white ferret when Moody shouted at him but he dropped it instantly. The ferret attempted to run off but Moody flicked his wand and lifted the ferret into the air.

Harry looked on in confusion for a moment before realizing what was happening. "It's Malfoy!" he whispered to Estella, who looked just as confused as he had been. "The ferret is Malfoy!" Estella's eyes got wide before she burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter as Moody banged Malfoy around into walls, yelling at him all the while.

"I'll teach you to speak speak that way about a brave, hardworking woman you weaselly little turd!" Moody shouted at him as he swung him around the room."

"What is going on here!" a voice rang from the staircase, causing everyone to freeze, including Malfoy as he flew across the room. Professor McGonnagall appeared hurrying down the stairs, looking on at the scene in horror. "What are you doing?" she asked Moody

"Teaching," he said, not looking the least bit remorseful.

"No!" she cried as she pulled out her wand and flicked it toward the ferret. Moments later, Draco Malfoy appeared and she rounded on Moody. "We _never_ use Transfiguration as a punishment!" she said weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"Eh..." Moody replied noncommittally, scratching his chin. "Perhaps he said something of the sort."

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I'll do that then," said Moody, glaring down at Malfoy's quivering form looking at him fearfully. "Professor Snape, right?" he asked, his voice lathered in disgust.

"Yes," Malfoy replied resentfully.

"An old friend," growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape... Come on, you..." And he seized Malfoy's upper arm and marched him off towards the dungeon.

Professor McGonnagall watched them go, shaking her head, before turning to the students and telling them to go on to dinner. Several students broke back into laughter as they all continued pouring into the Great Hall.

Harry turned to Estella as Ron, Hermione and Ginny all talked about the look on Malfoy's face when McGonnagall turned him back to normal. "Are you ok?" He asked her concernedly.

Nodding her head, she smiled up at him reassuringly. "I'm fine, I was just upset with him is all. I know my mother would never have done anything of the sort, all I've ever been told was how strong she was so I'm not letting it get to me." Harry smiled and squeezed her hand before joining in the conversation targeting "Malfoy, the Amazing Bouncing Ferret."

A/N Hope you liked it and, as always. Please Review! It really means a lot to me and it only takes a moment to voice you're thoughts. Thank you!  
Edit: Fixed Snuffels to Snuffles. Thank you Tumshie, I don't know why I decided to check online to make sure, rather than trusting my instinct. Merci


	10. The Room of Requirement

Disclaimer: I own nothing, J.K. Rowling owns everything else.

Chapter 10: The Room of Requirement

Word of the Amazing Bouncing Ferret has spread swiftly and Malfoy was often seen scowling at the snickering faces of those he passed, including several from his own house. The days were passing by swiftly and before they knew it, Thursday had arrived and it was time for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Filing into the seats in anticipation, Harry and Estella sat side by side in anticipation of the class. Turning over his shoulder, Harry joked with Ron about this being the first class he'd ever been so early for without Hermione breathing down his neck. Hermione shot him a mock-glare that only caused Ron and him to laugh even harder.

A slam in the back of the room silenced them all instantly as they craned their necks back to get a look a look at the carved features of the man whose arrival they had all so eagerly awaited. He entered swiftly as though he felt that going any slower would allow some hidden pursuant to strike him down. This air of paranoia was enhanced by his left eye rolling around of its own accord scouting out the classroom and, occasionally, the back of his head as it rolled until only the whites were visible. His gruff features and disturbingly active magical eye hushed the students into awed silence.

As he reached the front of the class he turned and addressed the class. "You've all been introduced to me this morning but allow me to reiterate. I am Professor Moody, you're Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and, as I'm told, only the second competent one you've had." As he spoke, his magical eye continued to drift about the room, as though searching for any signs of danger, stopping for a second on Harry before returning to its seemingly random, erratic movements. "Speaking with Professor Lupin gave me details on your experience with magical creatures last year; however, you have not appeared to have had any significant lessons on curses. While magical creatures are definitely an important subject, you are far more likely to be threatened by a rogue wizard than a boggart.

At this point, all textbooks flew from desks and, in Hermione's case, hands to land in a neat pile along the wall. "Textbooks will not be necessary for today's lesson," Moody explained as Hermione moved to protest, although this didn't seem to pacify her in the slightest, huffing as she sat back in her chair. "Curses are the most powerful form of negative magic in that they are inherently intended to cause harm. Jinxes and hexes can cause discomfort and pain but rarely to the extent of that of even a minor curse. There are three curses in particular that are so powerful as to be considered Unforgivable. Can anyone give the name of one such curse?"

Several hands shot into the air, eager to participate in a lecture where the teacher had already taken away the books and Moody pointed to Dean Thomas. "The Imperius Curse, sir?" he stated uncertainly.

"Right you are," Moody replied gruffly. "The Imperius curse is the least powerful and the only one that can be thrown off, which I will instruct you on shortly. This curse is used to control the victim into doing whatever task the caster wishes them to perform, but if the victim has enough willpower or magical power, he/she can throw off the curse or even reverse it upon the caster. Now does anyone know of any other Unforgivable Curses?"

A few less hands shot up this time and Moody called on Hermione for this one. "The Cruciatus Curse, a curse that –"

"Ya ya, I've heard about you Granger so I'm going to stop you right there before you try to steal my explanation." Several snickers were heard throughout the classroom, particularly from Ron, who guffawed loudly, drawing a glare form Hermione as she huffed loudly again, clearly miffed at being cut off. "Now, as Miss Granger was about to say, the Cruciatus Curse is a spell of torture. It brings unimaginable pain to the victim that is strengthened by the magical power of the user. Each person is different but most liken the pain to that of hot knives coated in salt being shoved into every pore of one's skin and twisted violently. Seconds turn to hours and minutes to days because as long as you are under that curse your body is shutting down slowly. Because of this many do not recover fully from longer exposure to the curse with the worst cases often sent into comatose states or even death."

At this last part, a small noise came from one corner, drawing Harry out of his fascination with the lecture to see Neville clenching his fists. Moody seemed to follow Harry's eyes and at the sight of Neville he swiftly moved on. "Now finally we have the most powerful of the Unforgivables, the _Avada Kedavra_. This curse, when cast correctly, cannot be blocked by any shield and upon contact causes instant death…" The classroom had grown eerily silent at this as many glanced over at Harry covertly, most wondering what was so special about him that made him seemingly immune to the deadliest curse known to wizardry.

"Now that being said, the curses are not unblockable," Moody continued. "Does anyone know how to properly counter the unforgivable curses?" This question threw the room into disconcertion as they began looking at one another confusedly. Moody smiled at them, an odd expression on his features that looked as though it were caused more by pain than by amusement. "I thought no –, "he began until he saw Harry's hand raise slowly in front of him. "Yes Mr. Potter?"

"The Unforgivables can be blocked by solid objects that the curses collide with as the object will absorb the magical energies of the curse." Harry said, looking proud that he had remembered some vital information from his dueling sessions with Sirius and Big Rob.

Moody looked at Harry curiously for a moment before replying. "That is correct Mr. Potter, I'm glad to see you've been taking the time to learn more conventional methods of defense rather than relying on your previous ability to mysteriously reflect the curse upon you're adversary, CONSTANT VIGILANCE! 20 points to Gryffindor." Harry reddened a little at the praise and couldn't help from smiling as his peers looked at him approvingly. After a moment more of regarding Harry curiously, he moved back on to his lecture.

"Now that is how you block the Cruciatus and _Avada Kedavra_ curses and now I'm going to instruct you on how to defend against a landed Imperius curse." This put the students on the edge of their seats as they had never had such an exciting lesson in the past, although that wasn't saying much when they're most productive class period had been on facing boggarts. "The easiest method of doing so is to involve one's emotions in the defense of one's body, as emotions assist in triggering our deeper recesses of magical power. To utilize emotional dueling strength, one must focus on a particular emotion and draw up memories that fuel that emotion. While in an ideal world, love is the most powerful emotion, most have trouble using that emotion to assist them in throwing off the Imperius curse as it often triggers the wrong portions of one's magical power and embraces the curse rather than rejecting it. For today, I want you to think of a memory of something that angered you more than any other event in your life. If you can't think of one then making one up works fine, although that often takes more time. Create an image of this event in your mind and pretend that the voice in you hear is the source of this event. Good to go?"

After a pause, everyone nodded their heads, equipped with the memory of choice. One by one, Moody picked his way through the class and, while some held out for longer than others, none managed to keep Moody from gaining control of them and forcing them to bow. When he came to Neville, several people snickered, yet Harry looked at him intriguingly as he saw his jaw set in determination with a far off look in his eyes as he focused intently on the memory he had in mind.

Moody regarded the look in Neville's eyes for a moment before lifting is wand and shouting, "_Imperio_!" The curse hit Neville and for a moment his features began to relax and he began to bend forward before suddenly the look returned to his eyes and he straightened immediately. A yellow light seemed to leave Neville through pores as he threw off the spell and smiled tiredly. The class stared at him in shock before a scattered applause and hoots rose around the classroom. Moody smiled slightly as though he knew this would happen all along but the smile was gone almost as quickly as it had come and he merely moved to the next student, offhandedly awarding 20 points to Gryffindor.

Moving about the class without further surprises, Moody finally came to settle on Harry and Estella last of all. Casting the spell on Estella, the students could almost see the battle raging in her eyes as she fought the curse for a lengthy 2 minutes before a bead of sweat trickled into her eye and broke her concentration, allowing Moody to force her into submission. "Never let distractions cause you to lose focus," said Moody before turning to Harry.

Harry didn't even seem to register that it was his turn to be tested as he continuously imagined the screams of his friends as though they were being held under the Cruciatus Curse. The very thought of someone harming his friends set off a torrent of anger within Harry that seeped out in the form of his Aura. The red mist began to form around him and when Moody cast the curse at him Harry seemed to draw it together to push away the curse and send it reeling back towards Moody before he had a chance to react.

'_Bow_, 'Harry said in his mind. Moody obeyed his command instantly, bending until his head nearly touched his knees before Harry released the spell. Straightening, Moody looked at Harry in a mixture of shock and respect as he slowly regained control of his own movements.

"Well…" Moody began, unsure of where to begin, "that was an example of the Imperius curse being reversed upon its caster. This can be done by sheer magical power or by the strength of the emotion being used, or even a combination of both. Which one this was for Potter, I'd rather he not say. You never know who may be listening…" Harry shut his mouth quickly at this, realizing how foolish it was that he had been about to tell everyone of his talent.

"After a time, wizards and witches with enough raw magical power can learn to control their abilities so that they can effectively utilize them without the need to draw upon memories. However, emotions will always maximize the abilities of any wizard and it is you're duty to be wary of the methods with which you utilize you're emotions for any spell can be used to harm with the proper intentions. Class Dismissed."

The students poured into the hallway excitedly, chattering with one another about the incredible lesson. Harry and Estella were heading out at the back of the pack when Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Moody.

"A word with you, Potter?" Moody asked, removing his hand as Harry nodded uncertainly. Closing the door behind the last students, Moody leaned against a table and studied Harry for a moment before speaking. "I don't know how much you know about you're wizard aura, kid, but you might want to be a little more careful on how you use it in the future." Harry looked at Moody in shock, surprised to see that he'd been found out so easily. "Oh don't look at me like that. You were damn near glowing and had I not put a glamor charm on you before it came out in full force the entire class might have seen it." At this, Harry looked down sheepishly, realizing how irrational he'd been.

"I don't know how much training, if any, you've had in this but I have a few books I'd like you to read on your own time that might give you some assistance," Moody said as he held out a waved his wand and 3 books flew into Harry's chest, knocking the breath out of him. "That's for making me bow," Moody said with a chuckle at Harry's indignant expression. "Let me know if they help, but for now I have another student to speak with…" Moody said as he walked towards the front of the class where Harry was surprised to see Neville sitting rigidly at his desk. Nodding farewell, Harry walked out of the class with a glimpse of Moody placing a comforting hand on Neville's shoulder.

Following lunch, Harry and Estella met in the Gryffindor common room where they split up to retrieve their Divination homework. Shuffling through his papers to find the assignment, he noticed the corner the notebook he'd received from Sirius and looked at it curiously. Carrying it down with him, he sat down next to Estella who looked over his shoulder curiously to see what he was reading.

"This sounds incredible!" Harry uttered softly as he finished reading about a few of the ways the room had been used and how it had automatically adapted to the wants and needs of the inhabitants. Forgetting entirely about their homework, the two agreed to check out the room as Ron and Hermione came in, nearly colliding with the couple as the rushed out of the common room.

"Something interesting going on?" Hermione asked curiously, seeing the notebook the two seemed so engrossed in. Harry and Estella looked up embarrassedly, realizing they'd forgotten about Ron and Hermione, before filling the two in on what they'd learned of the Room of Requirement.

"We could study in there without ever having to worry about distractions. It's even better than the library!" Hermione squeaked excitedly, drawing odd looks from the other three.

"Only you would think of studying as the best use for this room Hermione…" Ron said as the Harry and Estella broke into laughter, drawing glares from Hermione, though she couldn't help but join in as she realized how ridiculous she sounded.

"So are you two up for testing this thing out? Harry asked them unnecessarily, wanting to get back to their search.

Nodding eagerly, Ron and Hermione stepped in behind Harry as they set off towards the seventh floor. Swiftly arriving at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, the three huddled together to read the next step.

"So what should we wish for?" Estella asked, voicing the question they all had.

"A kitchen…" Ron said dreamily, his mouth watering at the very thought of food.

"It wouldn't matter Ron," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at his expression. "As one of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, food can't be created so you'd still have to bring whatever food you wanted to eat and cook it yourself." Ron's face fell at this though he continued looking off absently, dreaming of a room that could provide for his exceptional appetite at his every whim.

Shaking his head, Harry voiced Sirius' suggestion. "Sirius had the idea of using it as a dueling arena. That way we could practice spells whenever we want to and not have to worry about getting in trouble with teachers. We could even come up with practice dummies for when we want to practice spells that we can't try on one another." The others nodded, agreeing that this would be a great use for the room before stepping back to allow Harry space to walk. Pacing back three times while thinking of a dueling arena, Harry opened his eyes at the sound of Hermione's gasp to see a large door had appeared in the wall.

Looking about cautiously, the group entered the room to see a massive room that seemed to meet every need they would ever have for practicing spells. A wall of practice dummies ready for activation stood to the right while an obstacle course resided to the left. The most impressive piece, however, was the sunken oval section in the center where the group could duel. A large, clear magical dome surrounded the arena that would keep spells from escaping the field.

As they entered the field, they noticed scorch marks where spells had hit the walls and realized that others had used this room in the past. Remembering a side note from the notebook, Harry shouted, "Jungle!" At his command, the dome seemed to expand immensely and the ground began sprouting shrubbery. Hermione screamed as an immense tree rose from the ground next to her and Ron nearly fainted as a tarantula crawled by Harry's foot. Nevertheless, the group was greatly impressed and Harry could tell they were all just as eager as him to get started in the room.

"I have a feeling we're going to be spending a lot of time in here," Harry said, breaking the others out of their reverie, "but I think it would be better if we came back tomorrow when we have more time to test it out." The others nodded at his suggestion and left the arena as it changed back to normal.

Arriving at the common room, the group hurriedly finished their Divination and other homework before talking excitedly about the Room of Requirements. As the common room emptied and others turned in for the night, they rose tiredly, excited for the next day. Parting ways, the group headed to their respective dormitories, none noticing Neville's silent figure as he regarded them mutely before heading out of the common room alone.

A/N Yes, I know I'm lagging ass on updating but I've finally gotten settled down with college and ROTC so if I don't update then it's merely because I'm being lazy now so just send me a message and I'll get my butt up and start writing. Thanks for reading and once again, please review! See ya soon…


	11. The Goblet of Fire

A/N A fun little chapter to write, hope you all enjoy and review!

Disclaimer: J.K. owns everything. Period.

Chapter 11: The Goblet of Fire

Over the next few days, classes began increasing in work load and the group postponed their testing of the Room of Requirement for the weekend. Finally, Friday arrived and the group met in the common room, excited to test out their skills in a dueling arena.

Just before leaving the portrait, however, Ginny stepped in front of them with an annoyed look on her face. "And just where do you all think you're going?" She asked with her arms crossed. "Ron's had his goofy excited look on all day so I know you guys are up to something fun."

"Er…" Harry stuttered uncertainly, not wanting to bring up the Room of Requirement in such a crowded area.

"Oh just come on," Ron said impatiently, you'll see when we get there. Ginny shrugged at this and fell in with the group as they headed again to the seventh floor. Pacing before the door, Harry began to open the newly appeared door when he heard a throat clearing behind him. Spinning quickly, expecting a teacher to have caught them, Harry was surprised to see Neville standing by the tapestry of Barnabus.

"I heard Ron talking about the room yesterday and I want in. I could use some extra help with Defense of the Dark Arts." He said, walking towards them quickly as though they might not let him join them if he took too long.

At this Hermione gave Ron an exasperated look before shaking her head and opening the door, muttering about Ron being unable to keep a secret if he had a wand shoved up his arse, causing Harry, Ginny and Estella to break into laughter as they followed her through the door. As they entered the immense room, Ginny gasped at the sight while Neville merely nodded in appreciation. Harry first went to the training dummies to see if they operated in the same manner as those he was used to and upon confirmation he levitated 4 of them over to the arena where the others awaited him.

"Well seeing as only Estella and I have ever had any legitimate dueling instruction, I want to first see where you all stand against opponents and then we'll decide where to go from there." Harry said, fairly confident in his plan as he'd spent a great deal of time going over how he would bring them up to speed before they began learning new spells and techniques. "To do this, I'm going to put you in an open field, no landscape just yet, and see how well you handle yourselves. Sound good?" The others nodded in agreement and headed to the arena, each levitating a training dummy to face off against.

First up was Hermione, who squared off with the dummy nervously. Setting the dummy to low skill level, Harry activated it and Hermione went immediately to disarm her opponent, yet when the dummy threw up a shield, she seemed at a loss as to what to do next and was nearly caught by a stunning charm. Casting her own stunning charm in response, she seemed to be becoming increasingly frustrated at not taking out her target which only caused her to further stumble over spells. It seemed as though she had too many ideas on what spells to use but she couldn't seem to make up her mind. Finally, as a stunning charm came towards her as she was in the middle of a spell she froze and neglected to shield herself, merely throwing up her hands and squeaking as the charm hit her in the chest. Harry cast _Rennervate_ to wake her before moving on.

Next up was Ginny, who approached the target as though she were facing one of her siblings who'd pissed her off. As soon as the dummy was activated she went straight to work throwing bat-bogey hexes, stunning charms and disarming charms. She seemed to be making headway, however, her extensive spell casting relied mainly on the fact that her opponent couldn't get off many spells while attempting to avoid her and she was throwing up no defensive spells to protect herself. A well placed _Expelliarmus_ easily struck her and she huffed angrily as she retrieved her wand, kicking the dummy as she passed it.

As Ron walked up to his position, the group could see the trepidation in the shakiness of his movements and the deep breaths he kept taking.

"Relax, Ron," Harry said reassuringly. "It's just practice; no harm will come from it."

At this, Ron straightened up and nodded, attempting to muster up his confidence. As the dummy activated, it immediately sent a stunning charm at Ron, who seemed to freeze instantly. His eyes widened he raised his arms for a second to protect himself before remembering his wand and casting a quick shielding charm. The rushed _Protego_ barely managed to stop the spell and Ron was tagged by the bit that managed to slip through the shield, causing his eyes to droop into a semi-conscious position. Somehow he managed to remember where he was despite the state of his mind and managed to get off a _Stupefy_ before being struck down by a body bind curse. Somehow his stunning charm managed to hit the dummy and it went down nearly simultaneously.

The group laughed at Ron's "victory" though Harry told him not to let it get to his head, as a victory at the cost of his own life wouldn't be of much use to him. This seemed to humble Ron as he moved back to his place next to Hermione to watch Neville take his turn.

Neville, who'd been unusually quiet lately, moved up to position with the same look of determination that he'd worn as he'd prepared to face the Imperius curse. As soon as the dummy activated, he began by throwing a volley of spells much like Ginny had, mixing in a large variety of spells into a few seconds. Jelly legs jinxes, body bind curses, stunning charms, and even _Reducto_'s flew towards the dummy with extraordinary intensity. The dummy did a marvelous job of holding of the first few spells but one of the jelly legs jinxes managed to slip through the shield, throwing it off balance and allowing a Reductor curse to hit it full in the chest, blasting it in half and ending the duel swiftly, without ever giving the dummy a chance to fire back.

All but Harry and Estella looked at Neville in silence with expressions of astonishment before rushing up and congratulating him. Looking at Estella, he saw the same thoughts reflected in her eyes.

"Looks like we're going to have to talk to Neville," Harry said to her under his breath. "I have a feeling that he's got something on his mind that he's learned to use with his magical ability. The difference in skill level is extraordinary but the look in his eyes worries me."

A nod from Estella told him she'd been thinking along similar lines. Looking on for another moment, Harry and Estella walked up to join the rest of the group.

"Well great job everyone," Harry said cheerfully. "Particularly you, Neville, you tore that dummy to shreds." Neville smiled slightly at the praise and Harry continued. "Each of you has your strengths and weaknesses to work on so Estella and I are going to work out some drills for each of you individually so we can work on your dueling fundamentals before we start adding new spells and tactics."

The others nodded, each of them excited at the prospect of being able to become more skilled duelists. They continued to chatter excitedly about the skills they were sure to learn as they headed back to the dorms.

The next few weeks went by smoothly, with the lessons in dueling progressing smoothly. Harry and Estella had Hermione practice short, fast-paced exchanges with the dummies by posting up several opponents for her to face off against. One would fire off a round of curses that she had to shield against and respond with a spell of her own. Shortly after, another drone would repeat the actions of the previous and she would continue to skirmish with various drones. She wasn't allowed to use the same offensive spell until she'd used 3 others in different exchanges, causing her to use a larger variety of spells and helping her to more easily recollect spells for use in a duel.

For Ginny, the two had faced her off against an opponent in an ordinary duel, however, she was only allowed to fire back as many spells as were thrown at her, forcing her to shield and move about much more defensively than before. This assisted her in learning how to properly defend herself while in a duel rather than relying merely on her intense volume of spells cast.

Ron needed assistance most in becoming used to stressful situations so Harry decided to work from the ground up. First he had Ron practicing against multiple dummies, only allowing him to shield and defend himself. On alternating weeks, Harry had Ron practice going on the offensive by reversing the positions and putting the drone on the defense. However, not wanting Ron to merely be attacking a target, he had the drone occasionally throw out a quick burst of spells that Ron would have to be on guard for if he didn't want to be hit.

Neville needed assistance in facing an opponent that could react faster than the drones, as even the high level drones weren't swift enough to face Neville's onslaught of spells. They defended against each one but were unable to respond to his spells. To remedy this, Harry set Neville in a room with various obstacles and sub-rooms where Neville had to be more on guard. He faced him against 3 drones that were in various places, forcing Neville to move about and locate his opponents before they surprised and stunned him. Occasionally Harry would even face Neville himself to give him practice against a much more powerful and slightly more experienced duelist.

Outside of assisting the others, Harry and Estella worked on learning various new more powerful spells that could be used to take down an opponent's shield with far more ease than a stunner. They had begun with strengthening her ability with shield charms by having Harry duel her with some of the safer spells they had learned as she defended. For the more violent curses, he threw the spells at a target dummy that she shielded from a nearby location.

With classes settling in, the work load had begun increasing and the group always enjoyed the release they got from dueling. Harry had written to Sirius and Estella again to update them on the status of the training and they had responded quickly, letting him know that they were proud of him for adding others to the group and assisting them as well rather than keeping his skills to himself.

Before they knew it, October was upon them and the holiday spirit was visible throughout the school with the cobwebs and carved pumpkins lining the hallways. Near the end of the month, a poster appeared outside of the Great Hall signaling the pending arrival of the delegates from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons for October 30.

Excitement filled the castle as girls chattered amongst themselves about the likelihood of the Durmstrang boys being cute while the boys traded stories about their unlikely experiences with females from Beauxbatons.

The evening of October 30 arrived and the students lined up to await the arrival of the schools. A massive flying carriage landed in the grass, carrying Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons, and her students who were shivering from lack of proper weather attire. She planted two kisses on Dumbledore's cheeks as he welcomed her to Hogwarts before ushering her students into the school to warm up.

Soon afterwards the Durmstrang students arrived on an eerie ship that emerged from the Black Lake. As the students piled off, Ron nearly fainted in excitement at seeing that the student in front was none other than the famous seeker Victor Krum.

Filing into the castle after the students, Harry was amused to see Ron rush in to stand amongst the females attempting to acquire an autograph from Victor Krum.

"I'm glad you don't get so flustered when a Quidditch player shows up to the school," Harry said to Estella jokingly.

Laughing, she replied, "Why would I when I have the _famous_ Harry Potter by my side already." Seeing his face redden indignantly only made her laugh harder as she enveloped him in a bear hug. "I'm only joking, I could care less about how famous you are, I just care about plain old boring Harry."

"Thanks… I think," Harry said shaking his head. '_I think I'll stop now before she continues to poke fun at me_.'

As the students sat at the tables, each house attempted to sway Krum into sitting with them, though in the end he sat down with the Slytherins, causing Draco to look around smugly, as though he'd won some great victory.

"Hey, psst! Hey, Victor! Krum! Psssssssst!" Harry looked to his left in annoyance to find Ron desperately attempting to catch the attention of Victor Krum in order to persuade him to sit with the group. When Ron even went so far as to invite him to sleep in their room Harry just shook his head and proceeded to ignore him.

The girls from Beauxbatons had finally stopped shivering and once they did Harry wished they'd never stopped. As soon as they managed to work the frost from their lips they proceeded to criticize everything in sight, from the ceiling to the decorations to the food (when it appeared) and even the very students of Hogwarts. Estella seemed like she was on the verge of slapping one who looked at her with a curled lip before turning to her friend and speaking under her voice. Despite how much he'd enjoy watching her take apart the girl, Harry pulled her back to him and planted kisses on her neck until she calmed down enough for him to let go, though he held onto her anyway.

When Dumbledore brought the hall to attention, Harry noticed two unfamiliar figures sitting at the head table with the teachers. When he pointed them out, Ron stopped staring at a girl from Beauxbatons he claimed to be a Veela long enough to answer him.

"That's Ludo Bagman to the left, he's the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and to the right is Barty Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports."

Dumbledore was now clearing his throat again to settle down the remainder of the conversation in the hall before he proceeded to speak. "Good evening all and welcome to Hogwarts!" He boomed enthusiastically. "It is a pleasure to extend the hospitality of Hogwarts to our fellow schools of magic and I'm certain that our students will express their excellent conduct as well.

"Now we are all here together to participate in the monumental return of the Triwizard Tournament in which one delegate from each school will be allowed to participate in a contest of wit, bravery and strength to win the Triwizard Cup for their respective school along with 1000 galleons."

Upon hearing of the winnings for the tournament, the Hall broke into excited chatter, to which Dumbledore merely smiled before hushing the students again. "Now to determine the champion for each school, the Goblet of Fire will be used to select those it deems most worthy." At this, Dumbledore gestured to a large goblet that had escaped the attention of most. "Each student wishing to enter must place his or her name upon a slip of paper and place it into the Goblet and tomorrow the champions will be announced. On that note, do not enter your name if you believe yourself to be unable to complete the tasks because if selected, you must go on with the tournament. Now, sleep on that thought and tomorrow if you still wish to enter, the Goblet will await you outside of the Great Hall."

When Dumbledore stepped down, the students began making their way to the dorms while the head boy lead Durmstrang away and the head girl, Beauxbatons. As they made their way towards the common room, Estella was steadily attempting to convince Harry to enter.

"Why should I enter the tournament?" he asked in exasperation for what felt like the hundredth time. "I already have fame and I clearly have gold, what would the tournament do for me?"

"It's not about that, Harry! You could win this tournament and have something you can say you did on your own. It's not for anyone else, Harry, it's for you!" Estella was clearly excited about this and refused to drop the subject.

Sighing, Harry tried a different angle. "I thought you wanted to enter the tournament. We can't both be the Hogwarts champion."

"But this way one of us will at least. I don't care who it is, I just don't think you should let this opportunity go without at least trying." Estella stuck out her bottom lip in an attempt to sway him, begging him to consider her idea and finally Harry relented.

"Well… I still don't want you entering, so…" I'll put my name in if you promise not to enter yours." His slim hope that this would change her mind was crushed instantly when her smile lit up and she hugged him tightly, agreeing readily to his terms.

'_I'm going to regret that tomorrow, especially if I get selected._' Despite this, Harry couldn't help but be a little excited about the prospect of entering the tournament and as he and Estella kissed one another goodnight, that thought kept him up as he considered the possibilities.

The next morning came about swiftly and Harry was surprised to find that many people were unwilling to enter the tournament, despite their excitement at the rewards. Cedric Diggory slipped his name into the cup to the raucous applause of several of his housemates who'd come to watch and Victor Krum had placed his name in as well, ignoring the fawning girls around him.

Harry had managed to avoid placing his name in all morning and had held out hope that Estella had forgotten their deal until she showed up with a slip of paper and a quill ready for him to sign. After lunch, he'd headed to the cup to witness a few students from Beauxbatons enter their names. Following them, Draco Malfoy strutted up to the cup with a gang of Slytherins to enter their names with expressions that showed that they felt they'd already been selected as the champions.

When Harry walked up to the cup nervously, Draco turned and commented loudly. "Looks like Potter thinks he's good enough to enter the tournament. Letting that fame get to your head eh? Maybe I should get you a pacifier and a couple more parents for you to give you a better chance?"

Stopping in his tracks, Harry turned slowly and when he faced Malfoy the look of intense fury caused the smirk to slip a little. For Harry, everything happened in slow motion, literally, and he advanced on Malfoy so quickly that to the naked eye it was almost as though he had apparated. His wand had also managed to appear in his hand and he'd pushed it roughly into Draco's neck.

For a moment, it looked as though Harry would take off Draco's head there on the spot but instead he leaned forward, the fiery look in his eyes still present. "I should kill you for that," he whispered in Draco's ear, "but you aren't worth the years I'd spend in Azkaban. Just know that if you _ever_ cross me in less favorable circumstances than this, it might be your last."

Pulling back, Harry glared into Draco's eyes for a moment longer before removing his wand, the tip of which had turned a yellowish hue and had left a cut on Draco's neck, which began to run freely until Draco covered it up and backed away in fright, not turning his back on Harry until he reached the corner of the hallway where he turned and ran.

Harry had continued to stare down Draco until he rounded the corner, at which point he shook his head and seemed to come back to reality to see the small crowd looking at him in a mixture of awe and fear. Hurriedly he shoved his slip into the Goblet and walked off quickly, not waiting to see if Estella was there or not.

When a comforting hand slipped into his, he turned and looked at Estella, who'd caught up to his long strides with relative difficulty. "What did you say to him?" She asked him softly.

"I told him not to cross me again…" he said, pausing uncomfortably, "and that if he ever did so again that I wouldn't give him the chance again."

"Oh, Harry," she said, pulling him into a hug. "I understand how upset you must be but don't let that idiotic prat get to you. He's just doing his best to rile you up and its clearly working. Don't let him get the best of you like that, sometimes it's best just to ignore, especially when they anger you this much." Harry nodded his understanding but he still kept silent and Estella was content to merely walk with him, providing what comfort she could.

Dinner came swiftly and everyone ate in a rush, excited for the selection of the champions to begin. Finally, Dumbledore stepped forth and signaled for Snape to bring up the Goblet of Fire. When Snape set it upon the table, sparks began to shoot from the inside, increasing in intensity and spitting out pieces of paper. Finally, when the third paper appeared, the sparks began to die down and Snape handed the slips to Dumbledore.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore selected the first slip and began to speak. "As each champion is chosen, I would like for them to stand at the before the head table to await further instructions. Now, for the Durmstrang champion we have… Victor Krum!" Loud applause echoed throughout the Hall, particularly from the females, although Ron outdid them all.

"Some surprise that is," Ron said sarcastically, continuing his enthusiastic clapping.

As the applause died down, Krum took his place at the head table and Dumbledore shook his hand before continuing. "For the Beauxbatons champion we have… Fleur Delacour!" Applause broke out, less intense from most, but equally as enthusiastic from Ron as he shouted to Harry that she was the half Veela girl he'd noticed earlier.

When Fleur took her place amongst the champions, Dumbledore selected the final slip and smiled slightly before reading. "And the final champion for Hogwarts is… Harry Potter!" Applause exploded throughout the Hall and Harry's heart seemed to pound in his throat as he stood up and walked towards the head table.

When he reached Dumbledore he smiled slightly and shook his hands, feeling less nervous after seeing the reassuring twinkle in Dumbledore eyes. "Now all of the champions must leave now to meet in my office to discuss the tournament. To the rest of you, be prepared for an exciting year and I look forward to seeing each of you support you're respective champions throughout the tournament."

As Harry and the other three champions walked out, many of the students congratulated him and wished him good luck, increasing the butterflies in his chest. Upon reaching the doors his nerves were shot with adrenaline until a series of gasps throughout the Hall caught his attention, causing him to turn around.

Wondering at the fuss, he noticed several students pointing at the Goblet and muttering to the others around them. Dumbledore frowned and walked towards the cup cautiously. After a moment of intense sparking, a fourth slip of paper shot out and landed in Dumbledore's hand. Dumbledore stared at the paper intensely for a moment, his frown deepening before he turned to face the students and faculty who seemed eager to hear of this new development.

Pausing momentarily to scrutinize the slip once more, Dumbledore finally looked up and surveyed the hall before reading the name aloud and as the name sounded throughout the hall Harry's jaw dropped in shock and dismay, unwilling to comprehend what he was hearing.

The name was, "Estella Adalmund."

A/N Hope you liked it! I'm excited to get the fun part started so please review and keep reading, more is in store in the near future.


	12. Weighing of the Wands

A/N And I'm back from break, hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: All contents owned by JK Rowling except for a few tidbits

Chapter 12: Weighing of the Wands

"Estella Adalmund."

All eyes turned to face her as her name rang throughout the hall. The seconds ticked by and the silence seemed overpowering. Estella's face had lost all color and her eyes seemed dazed and unfocused. Standing, she walked over to join up with the other champions, looking as though she were unused to walking in her own shoes as she walked slowly through the rows, looking shaken to her very core.

The students stared at her with a mixture of emotions, ranging from curiosity, to annoyance and envy. Everyone's attention was glued to her and her discomfort at the situation was clear in her quivering figure. The silence was finally broken as she came to stand next to the other champions and students began whispering to one another excitedly.

"Outrageous!" Karkaroff exclaimed loudly. "Two Hogwarts champions? I wasn't aware of any rule stating that the hosting school was allowed multiple contenders for the cup. What is this Dumbledore?"

"I believe it would be best to discuss such things in private, Professor." Dumbledore had attempted to maintain an authoritative position yet his puzzlement showed clearly on his features.

Harry watched Estella reach the group and stare straight ahead with no focus, as though unwilling to look at anyone directly. Seeing her shake her head slightly he wondered if it was from her own bafflement or from guilt.

"Well…" Dumbledore began uncertainly, "Champions please gather in the room to the right of the head table." Harry felt a mixture of emotions as he stared at Estella in confusion, a slight feeling of betrayal gnawing at him.

'_I didn't do it…_' Estella mouthed to him as she walked by, looking nearly as dazed as he felt. Disinclined to believe her at the moment, he followed her into the chamber, keeping silent until he could hear her out, which he assumed would be happening momentarily.

Harry was the last champion to enter the room and instinctively felt protective of Estella as he saw the look she was receiving from Fleur and the irritated expression Krum wore as they stared her down. Putting a hand on her back, he glared at them until Fleur huffed dramatically and turned away and Krum averted his eyes, though he continued to look irritated.

As soon as the Professors entered the room Fleur interrogated Dumbledore viciously. "What is zis, Dumbly-dorr? Zis little girl can't compete can she? She doesn't look very powerful to me. She should be disqualified for cheating into zee tournament."

"I agree with Miss Delacour," Karkaroff added snidely. "It would be unfair to allow one school to have more than one champion."

Bursting into the room excitedly, Ludo Bagman cut off any remarks as all turned to see the cause of the disruption. "A _fourth _Triwizard champion! Can you believe it? It's extraordinary! Don't you think so Miss Adalmund?"

His jubilance and enthusiastic attitude seemed to make Estella shrink into herself as she looked to avoid any attention to herself, a feat that was clearly impossible at this point despite her valiant effort. Looking around for help, she was crushed to find that she had none as all awaited her answer to the question.

"I… I suppose so," she said tentatively.

Snape, who'd entered the room behind Bagman with McGonagall and Crouch, snorted loudly, drawing attention to himself. At Dumbledore's questioning glance, Snape elaborated. "It's clear that this is some plot of Potters to place his girlfriend in the tournament alongside himself. He's allowed his fame to get to his head and is most likely using it to convince older students to perform favors for him. I would suggest a severe pun-"

"Enough Severus," Dumbledore said with a sigh, having heard numerous times the disciplinary suggestions Snape would put forth. "Estella did you have anything to do with the procurement of your name from the Goblet of Fire?"

Estella shook her head furiously. "No professor, I promised Harry I wouldn't enter the tournament if he entered his own name and I stood by that promise, you know I wouldn't have gone behind your back like that." The last part was said almost pleadingly to Harry yet he merely looked on skeptically and waited for Dumbledore to resume his questioning.

Snape scoffed at her words and started to repudiate her claim but Dumbledore waved him off before he could speak. "I am inclined to believe the truth in your words but nevertheless, I do not encourage you're participation in the Triwizard Tournament." At this, Estella almost seemed indignant for a moment, though she wisely held back her words.

Moody chose this moment to enter the room and addressed Dumbledore's statement immediately. "Unfortunately her involvement in the tournament is obligatory if she intends to live past the First Task. Otherwise the binding contract will kill her the moment she neglects to participate."

His words left the room eerily quiet for a moment as they soaked in the gravity of his words. Karkaroff was the first to regain his composure as he brightened swiftly with the details of a plan forming in his mind.

"Well if we can't remove her from the tournament it is only fair that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons each be allowed to continue entering names until we both have two contestants as well." His smug look said that he felt he had bested an attempt by Hogwarts to gain the upper hand but Dumbledore's next words cut his victory short.

"Regrettably that is impossible," he said, continuing before Karkaroff could demand an explanation. "Once the champions are selected for each school, no other names may be entered and the Cup will remain dormant until the next tournament. Ironically, this was intended to keep schools from adding champions after the initial names had been drawn," he finished with a grimace.

"Ironically!" Karkaroff exclaimed in anger. "And I suppose it's _ironic_ that Gryffindor just coincidentally has two champions too?"

"Don't worry, Professor," Krum said, speaking for the first time. "We will win regardless, this girl will change nothing about the results." Karkaroff looked at him and nodded before moving to stand by his contestant, regarding the room with disdain.

Dumbledore merely shook his head before motioning to Crouch to come forward. As he moved to the center of the room, Harry shifted his focus to the middle aged man. As he entered the light, Harry noticed deep lines in his face and dark bags under his eyes. The man looked restless and seeing him this way reminded Harry of the story Ron had told him of the occurrence at the Quidditch World Cup with the man and his house elf Winky being found with a wand that had sent up a Dark Mark over the forest. Harry's thoughts were interrupted when the man began to speak.

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he began, addressing the champions, "so the details will be kept a secret. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard… very important…

"The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and a panel of judges.

"The students are not permitted to ask for or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests.

Turning to Dumbledore, he indicated that he was finished with the instructions and made his departure. Dumbledore turned to Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff brightly to invite them for a drink yet they turned without a word and lead their respective champions out of the room.

"Well," Dumbledore said, turning to Harry and Estella with the same enthusiastic smile, "I suggest you two make your way back to your common room, I have a feeling Gryffindor has a celebration in store for you both."

Harry smiled and nodded his goodnight as did Estella, albeit a bit forced on her part. As the reached to corridors Estella looked up at Harry expectantly but he remained subdued. Her shoulders slumped and they continued walking in silence.

Nearly half way to the common room Estella could no longer stand the silence. "I didn't put my name in the Goblet, Harry! I swear to you I wouldn't go behind your back and do something like that to you."

Harry stopped and turned to look at her for a moment in silence, taking in her wide, pleading eyes and the way she nibbled her bottom lip nervously. "Why would someone enter you in the tournament? Perhaps you didn't put your name in there yourself but what's to stop you from asking or even hinting to someone else to do it for you?"

"But I didn't!"

"Then what would make someone put your name in the Goblet?" Harry asked in frustration. "Who would want to put you in the tournament and for what reason? To get you killed?"

At his questioning, Estella seemed to wince and withdraw into herself, gazing about almost fearfully. "No one would want to put me in the tournament for that… W-why would you even suggest that?"

Harry took in her actions and his eyes widened in surprise. "You _do_ know don't you?"

"No!" she exclaimed quickly. "Just forget it! You wouldn't understand." With that she stormed off, leaving a confused and angry Harry standing alone. Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he made his way back to the common room.

"Balderdash," he said to the portrait, walking through the entrance with his head down to be met with an onslaught of noise.

It seemed as though the entire Gryffindor house had come to congratulate him as he was dragged around the room through with the roar of those around him screaming, applauding and whistling.

Fred and George had managed to sneak in loads of food and the common room had a party going in full force. "Where's Estella?" Ginny asked him as she was the only one to notice the miserable look in his eyes.

Harry merely shook his head and attempted to push his way through the crowd towards his dormitory. He noticed Ron stuffing his face in the corner, raising his head only to wave and yell out his congratulations. Hermione, who stood next to Ron, also noticed the look in his eyes and pushed her way through to him.

"What's wrong, Harry? Is it Estella?" she asked, concern evident in her features.

"Nothing," he said exasperatedly. "I just want to go to bed." Again he attempted to force his way through the crowds but he was having no luck. Seeing his struggle, Ginny and Hermione raised their wands into the air and sent up sparks.

"Gangway or I'll curse all of you," Ginny said, holding her wand towards those between Harry and the boys' dormitory. A path was quickly made, as most knew of the stories the twins told of Ginny when she was angry with Ron or them and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of that storm. They made their way through the slightly subdued common room and upon reaching the base of the staircase, Harry thanked Ginny and Hermione and bade them goodnight before heading to his dorm.

Harry sat down, hoping to catch some form of sleep, yet instead he merely sat upon his bed in thought for hours on end. Finally exhaustion caught up to him and his eyes drooped shut with his mind still reeling with questions he had for Estella.

As Harry drifted asleep a lone figure sat in the owlery perched atop the windowsill looking out into the night. A lone tear coursed down the smooth face of the girl and the quivering hands in her lap revealed her struggle to hold back the rest.

"What is going on?" Estella asked herself, wiping her tear and sniffling softly. "I've only ever done what's been asked of me and now I feel as though I'm being punished for something. Perhaps… perhaps it's because…" Estella paused as she pondered her idea.

"No." she decided. "This is just some sort of coincidental mistake is all... I just have to get through this year and then everything will go back to normal." A look of fierce determination appeared on her features as she attempted to convince herself of the truthfulness of her previous statement. Nodding to herself she stood and made her way back to the Gryffindor common room, entirely unaware of the lurking presence in the shadows of a man with a magical eye.

Watching her leave, Moody turned and made his way back to his office, having heard every word she'd uttered. A slight smile appeared on his features as he walked away, taking a careful swig from the thermos he kept on his person before rounding the corner and continuing on his way.

The following morning was a continuation of the congratulations being sent towards Harry which he had already begun to resent greatly, not the least because of Estella's constant refusal to even allow him to come near her.

He had spent time that morning thinking of her entry into the tournament and had realized that he had handled the situation poorly. He knew that had someone put his name into the cup that he would expect his friends to believe he hadn't done it and understood that regardless of his feelings on the subject he should have trusted her enough to believe her claim.

With this in mind he attempted throughout the day to locate her but seemingly to no avail as he had yet to locate her. His performance in class wavered from his already poor standing as he worried about her more and more.

His mood only worsened as he saw the badges the Slytherins had donned that day, saying "RIP Potter and Adalmund, The Wannabe Champions." On several accounts Draco had approached Harry to taunt him about the tournament but the dangerous look in Harry's eyes and his clenched fists caused Draco to merely smirk at him and continue walking past.

Before he knew it, his Gryffindor-Slytherin Potions class had arrived and he entered it expecting once again not to see Estella and was surprised to see her already there sitting at their usual spot. As he approached he noticed Malfoy behind her clearly attempting to rile her up and from the look of the bulging vein in her neck he was succeeding.

Harry picked up his pace and overheard the last of Malfoy's sentence as he neared. "-did he get his tramp in the tournament with him? What favor did he have you perform for him to go through that trouble huh?"

At his last statement Estella whirled around, wand in hand ready to curse the life out of Draco but she froze when she saw Harry standing there. The fury on his face caused even her to flinch in fright, though she knew it wasn't aimed at her. Her look of fear caused Malfoy to turn around, straight into Harry's right hook. The punch knocked Draco from his chair, knocking him into Goyle to his side.

Hearing the commotion, Ron and Hermione rushed in, as they had lagged further behind Harry. At the sight of Crabbe moving to advance on Harry, Ron lifted his wand and pointed it at the boys chin. Certain that Crabbe was taken care of, Harry moved towards Malfoy and picked him up before slamming him down onto the table. Hermione nibbled her lip in indecision for a moment before moving to the door to watch for Snape, drawing an eye of approval from Ron.

"I told you never again to speak to her like that, Malfoy," Harry said, his aura beginning to seep out, forcing Harry to suppress his Gift in order to keep time at the same speed. I suppose I have to hurt you to prove my point don't I?"

Draco was too shaken with fear to do anything other than widen his eyes and attempt to shrink away. "But I'm not going to hurt you, Draco," he said, using his first name for emphasis. At his words Draco looked up in surprise, before his mouth moved into a smirk.

"I knew you wouldn't," Draco said smugly. "Perfect Potter can't make himself look bad now can he?"

At his words a Harry formed a smirk of his own. "Of course and because of that I won't hurt you… But that doesn't mean Estella can't." As his words sunk in, Draco's fear returned in full force and he attempted to squirm out of his predicament but Harry merely pinned him tighter.

Estella walked over, thanking Harry before wiggling out her fingers. Drawing back, she clenched them slowly and stared at Draco for a moment before bringing it down swiftly. Draco cringed and shut his eyes, attempting to pull away as he awaited the impact. A second passed and he opened his eyes to see that Estella had stopped short and inch from his nose.

"He's not worth it," she said, before turning and walking back to her seat. Harry nodded and let Draco go, allowing him to stand.

"Once again you've proven to be a lucky man. If she were a lesser woman she might have taken full advantage of that. But be warned, I won't accept you're continued disrespect for her or anyone else. I've had enough of it and if it happens again I might be forced to put a stop to it myself, one way or another." With that he took his seat next to Estella and Ron and Hermione moved to their seats as well. As Hermione passed Draco she stopped and turned to look at him for a moment.

_Smack!_ The sound of her flesh on flesh rang throughout the room and everyone turned swiftly to see Draco clutching his head in his hands, coiled on the floor and Hermione shaking her hand. Ron stared at her in shock as he realized that she had slapped Draco before grabbing her and twirling her about the room.

"Guess I'm that lesser woman today," Hermione said between giggles when Ron finally set her down. They took their seats by Harry and Estella and Malfoy quickly moved his things to the opposite corner of the room to nurse his wounds like a wounded puppy.

"I just want to apologize," Harry began, "I shouldn't have assumed –" Estella cut him off with a finger.

"You don't need to explain, I would have felt the same way," she said, forgiving him instantly.

He opened his mouth to reply but at that moment Snape entered the room, taking a moment to look in Malfoy's direction, evident disgust at the boys cowering, before heading to the front of the class. Harry decided to postpone their talk until later and proceeded to open up his potions book for the class. Midway through the lecture, Colin Creevey entered the room nervously and asked for Harry and Estella to come with him for the Weighing of the Wands. Snape sneered and said they wouldn't have learned anything anyway before sending them out.

The two walked hand in hand, both enjoying the companionship of the other as they made their way through the corridors. They arrived in a small room for the ceremony to find that Victor Krum and Fleur were already there awaiting Mr. Ollivander's arrival.

As Harry stood by Estella, he felt her hand suddenly snatched from his and saw her being drug away by a reported who seemed to be peppering her with questions as she entered a broom closet and locked it behind them. Turning, he saw Dumbledore sigh and cut off his conversation with Madame Maxime in order to walk to the closet and unlock the door to save Estella from the nosy reporter. Estella looked flushed from even the short time she'd been with the woman and the reporter looked satisfied as though she'd received an entire story already.

Estella walked over to Harry looking as though she'd been probed uncomfortably as indeed she had been. "What did she want?" Harry asked her when she reached his side again.

"She asked me so many questions, I'm not quite sure where to begin," Estella replied. "She asked about our relationship and how I got my name into the tournament and how I felt about the bets being placed about the likelihood of my death in the tournament." The last bit was said with a fair amount of anger, hurt and resentment.

"Don't worry about her," Harry said in an attempt to comfort her. "Those people don't know you like I do, you're certain to get second."

"Second!" she exclaimed in surprise.

"Well of course. You didn't think I'd let you beat me did you?" he asked in false arrogance, causing her to laugh. A few moments later Mr. Ollivander entered the room and began the weighing of the wands.

First up was Fleur, whose wand contained a Veela hair from her own grandmother. Next was Krum, whose wand held a dragon heartstring. Harry approached and knew of course that his held the Phoenix feather that matched that of Voldemort's. When Estella's turn came up she looked hesitant, as though she were afraid to hand her wand over.

Upon taking it, Mr. Ollivander's eyes immediately narrowed. As he measured and inspected it his eyes widened dramatically until he finally finished. Turning, he stared at Estella in surprise for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking. "At first I thought that you merely held an unauthorized, home-crafted wand, but it seems that it is much more than that. What you have in your hands is a coreless wand. Only 3 were ever documented and each one bore immense power. The power of the wands was so great that often duplicates were created yet none ever managed to cast even simple spells as the technique had been lost in time.

"The wands were greatly fought over until all but one was destroyed and its owner spent the greater part of his life attempting to unlock the power of the wand. At last he succeeded but he soon learned the error of his ways, for there is a price in unlocking the secrets of the wand far greater than any reward."

Those present had followed his words intensely and complete silence had encompassed the room. Breaking the spell, Estella reached out and took the wand delicately from Mr. Ollivander. "W-what price is that sir?"

Looking at her curiously for a moment, the older man's face seemed to age slightly as he spoke. "Ah, my dear, the price that no one should ever have to pay before their time.

"Death."

A/N Hope you enjoyed it and that you all had a great Thanksgiving, I know I did. Please review! Thanks.


	13. Preparations

A/N Hehe I'm back. Hope you didn't miss me too much. Enjoy this next addition to my contribution to the Harry Potter legacy.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter or any other aspects of the series written by none other than J.K. Rowling.

**Chapter 13: Preparations**

Estella stared fearfully at her wand throughout the remainder if the day, touching it gingerly as though afraid it would explode. Harry had been shocked as well initially but he gradually began to relax, deciding that with all of the odd things he had seen in the wizarding world that this was mild on the scale of oddities. As he reached this conclusion he began to laugh at Estella's antics regarding her wand, drawing annoyed glances from her when she managed to tear her gaze from the wand.

"Is the possibility of my death _amusing_ to you, Harry?" she asked cuttingly, cautiously placing the wand on the table.

Her anger only led Harry to burst into a fit of laughter, tears streaming down his face as she shook her head and picked up her bag to storm out of the room.

"Don't forget the wand!" he managed to force out, laughing even harder when she glared at him lividly. When she snatched up her wand, Harry grabbed her hand, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm down. Tightening grip when she attempted to pull away, he held up a finger to ask for her to wait a moment.

Upon collecting himself, he pulled her to him where she remained stiffly against him, clearly still upset. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't poke fun. It's just that when I think of all of the ways we could die in the wizarding world easily, falling from a broom, backfiring a spell, splinching or a poorly made potion, something like this doesn't seem all that dangerous. At least in this you have the choice in whether or not to use the power and get killed. Everything else is all but out of your control because everything is so unpredictable.

Pulling back a little, he kissed her softly, which she returned, letting him know she wasn't so angry anymore. "I mean, I've only known about the wizarding world for 3 years and already I've fought a troll, faced the most powerful dark wizard on the back of his henchman's head, fought that same wizard's reincarnation along with a basilisk and traveled back in time to save my godfather, a griffin and myself from dementors. I don't think things will be much more dangerous with a wand that can kill you if you decide to use its power do you?"

Smiling she shook her head, a light giggle arising as well. "Well, Harry, you can't exactly say that's normal for any wizard though. You just happen to love putting yourself in those ridiculous situations so you can use it to woo young women such as myself," she said cheekily, earning a mock hurt look from Harry.

"I resent that!" He exclaimed jokingly. "I also woo older women, it just so happened that you were the only girl around at the time up to my standards."

"Is that so Mr. Potter? Well then I suppose I shall have to come up with a way to keep you here with me…" She let her sentence hang, lowering her eyes at him seductively before patting his cheek and walking away with a noticeable sway.

"Oh I think you have me already Miss Adalmund," Harry muttered to himself as she looked back and winked at him. Shaking his head he followed her to class, knowing his day would be very difficult to concentrate on.

Classes that week went well enough, considering the majority of the students cast sidelong glances at Estella and Harry throughout the day. The situation was not made much better by an article Rita Skeeter had chosen to publish.

_**Triwizard Love Duo**_

_By Rita Skeeter_

_In recent events, Estella Adalmund and Harry Potter have been named as Hogwarts champions in the Triwizard Tournament (see caption for description). The two are continuing an affair that they began this summer and it seems their love has made the two inseparable. Miss Adalmund, in an interview, confessed that her fear for Harry's safety drove her to enter the tournament in an effort to protect him. Sorry ladies but it seems as though the wizarding world's next top bachelor has been taken off the market early. (continue reading on page 3)_

Despite the blatant lies, Harry and Estella couldn't help but laugh at the article, joking that they were surprised Skeeter hadn't set a faux wedding date as well. Sure enough, however, a few days later an article came out announcing that the two had been heard discussing marriage terms and dates to continue the Potter line should he perish in tournament.

The amusement the articles brought Harry and Estella caused Malfoy to quickly cease attempting to use them against them, as every time he tried they merely laughed and continued on with what they were doing.

The next couple of weeks were consumed with the Harry and the gang learning a variety of new spells, particularly defensive, that Harry hoped to put to use in the first task. He was mainly worried about Estella and preparing her, as he was fairly confident that his Gift would make the task fairly easy for him. That is, until Dumbledore asked for a word with him.

"Harry, so glad you came." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Bertie Botts?" he asked, holding up a jar full of them which Harry declined politely, remembering his last less than pleasant experience with a vomit flavored bean. "So how are you coming regarding preparing for your first task?

"Very well, Professor," Harry answered truthfully, they had made much progress in their sessions together. "I think Estella will do brilliantly as well."

"Of that I am certain, Dumbledore said. "But there is one thing I am concerned with." Harry raised an eyebrow inquiringly and he continued. "I think it would be best if you kept you're Gift under wraps and relied on your other talents throughout this tournament."

Harry, unsurprised by the Headmasters knowledge of his power merely inclined his head questioningly.

The Gift you possess is highly uncommon to the point of near nonexistence and it would not do well for it to become public knowledge. There are many who still believe in old rituals where they could attempt to pass Gifts from one to another. None of these rituals work yet almost all require the death of the Gifted."

Harry paused before nodding slowly, "I can see why that might be problematic…" Harry said satirically. "If that's what you suggest professor then I will do as you ask and keep my talents hidden. But as you know, if someone's life is in danger I will do whatever I must to protect them regardless of consequence."

Dumbledore sighed yet nodded, "I know you will Harry, you always do and that is what makes you unique. But I should hope that such an event will not come to pass or that you will allow us to first attend to the matter, although I have a feeling you won't even remember this conversation in that event," he finished with his familiar twinkling eyes.

Harry grinned back at him, "I have no idea what you mean by that, Professor," he said in feigned ignorance, "but if you look at the time you will see I must be going now. There's a Hogsmeade visit today and I really must be going if that is all."

"Of course, I wouldn't want to keep you from Miss Adalmund. I don't believe that would end well for me," he replied with a chuckle.

With that Harry left Dumbledore's office and quickly rushed back to Gryffindor tower, changing swiftly and rushing to the common just in time to see Estella come down the stairs. Having previously seen her in muggle attire he didn't expect to be hit so hard by her beauty yet his feet rocked back slightly in a seemingly physical impact. She wore a dark fair of jeans that fit snugly to her legs and a red sweater that hung off one shoulder, allowing a tantalizing view of her shoulder. Her straightened hair flowed down to her back and Harry nearly reached out instinctively to run his hands through it.

Her laughter rang out as she descended the stairs and his world seemed to spin. His cheeks flamed red, however, when he realized she was laughing at him and he shuffled his feet with his head down in slight embarrassment until he could regain the natural color in his features. When he looked up she stood directly before him with a knowing smile.

"You're…" he began before she leaned in and kissed him thoroughly on his lips, effectively silencing him. Harry accepted the kiss graciously, moving one hand to cup her cheek and the other on the small of her back as he pulled her too him.

When she finally pulled away she smiled up at him then smirked and said, "Yes, I know I look beautiful. I suppose you look alright too."

Harry looked indignant for a moment, "Hey! You picked these ou… oh…" he finished sheepishly, realizing she was merely having him on. Narrowing his eyes at her he shook his head and pretended to walk past before turning swiftly and grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up to hoist her over his shoulder.

It was now Estella's turn to be indignant as Harry walked out of the common room with her in the air, bouncing and patting her bum as he hummed a lullaby as though she were a sleeping babe.

"You put me down this instant, Potter!" she yelled at him, though she couldn't keep the laughter out of her own voice.

Harry continued as he had been until he met up with Hermione and Ron who took one look at Estella's indignant features and disheveled hair and burst into laughter.

Estella merely huffed and attempted again to kick Harry. When she failed she asked Hermione, "Would you mind helping me down so I can hex him?"

Harry laughed and set her down. "You wouldn't really hex this face would you?" He asked with a pouty expression.

"No…" she said in seeming submission before lifting her wand at his chest. "Rictusempra." Harry collapsed to the ground, rolling around in uncontainable laughter while Estella began asking Ron and Hermione how their day had been, though they seemed too stunned to speak. Deciding he'd had enough she lifted the charm. Harry wiped the tears from his eyes and stood up with his hands up in surrender.

"Downright scary she is," Ron muttered, "almost as bad as Ginny."

"What's almost as bad as me?" Ginny asked as she walked up behind him.

"Er… nothing," Ron said, turning around swiftly with a pained expression as though he were ready to be hexed.

"Apparently I am," Estella corrected. "Now let's go to Hogsmeade, I'm starving. What's this I hear about a Creaky Cauldron?" The group laughed and headed out with the rest of the students.

The day was enjoyed eating candied apples and enchanted toffees that caused their voices change. When none seemed to understand a Darth Vader voice other Harry and Hermione they vowed to make their friends watch the movie. As the day came to a close they all wound up at the Leaky Cauldron laughing together and drinking butterbeers. As they began to leave to head back to the castle Harry noticed Hagrid sitting with Professor Moody and walked over to speak with him.

"Harry!" Hagrid exclaimed as he saw him, enveloping him in his infamous bear hug and patting him on the back with resounding thuds. "Yeh ready for the Firs' Task?"

Harry shrugged, "As ready as we can be without knowing what it is."

"We?" Hagrid asked curiously before seeing Estella. "Oh you mus' be Miss Adalmund," he stated, holding out a couple fingers for her to shake.

"Pleased to meet you," she said with a smile. "I've heard a lot about you."

"All good I hope," he said cheerfully.

"Of course! Though there was some rubbish about a dragon named…"

"Norbert," Hagrid finished looking slightly downcast. "Yeh, he was a good dragon… but enough abou' tha', we don't want the wrong people hearing. Speaking of the Firs' Task though, you might learn a little bit about it if you happen to come by my place aroun' midnight. I'll have company though that probably shouldn't see you if yeh catch my drift," he added with a wink.

"Thanks, Hagrid," Harry said in understanding. "I'll see ya then." With a smile and a wave he headed out and the group made its way back to the castle.

At 11:45 Harry made his way to Hagrid's hut under the invisibility cloak. He and Estella had agreed that it would be best if he went alone as she was unused to the cloak and it would be such a tight fit with her as well. As he approached the hut he noticed Hagrid standing outside already with Madame Maxime and overheard him speaking with her in what seemed, to Harry's dismay, to be a flirty manner. Unable to stand it much longer, Harry walked up behind Hagrid and tapped him twice to let him know he'd arrived.

Hagrid made a show of checking his watch, which caused Harry to chuckle silently to himself as it did not exist, before leading her inside. Harry entered behind them in puzzlement, wondering what he would learn about the task inside of Harry's hut.

"'Ere we go," Hagrid said after shuffling through his drawers for a moment and pulling out an actual watch. It's a portkey to where we're going so you have to grab onto me if you want to come along!" Hagrid almost yelled the last bit, causing Madame Maxime to arch an eyebrow and Harry again to muffle his laughter before grabbing onto Hagrid and tapping him again to let him know he was ready. At his signal, Hagrid tapped the watch with his wand and Harry felt a strange tug to his navel before they disappeared with a pop only to reappear moments later in what looked to be an abandoned town.

The trio walked towards some flashing lights at an intersection to their right, following Hagrid who smiled at the inquiring look in Madame Maxime's eyes that he was sure was mirrored in Harry's. When they reached the end of the street Harry realized what the flashing lights were and his stomach instantly dropped. A large magical dome stood in the middle of the intersection and within the dome were dozens of infant dragon lings. Each no higher than Harry's chest yet they spat flames out against the dome consistently and were uncannily fast. Surrounding the dome were several wizards, some of whom were holding the dome intact while others threw enormous chunks of meat into it only for it to be devoured nearly instantly.

At the far side of the dome stood a tall male with familiar red hair pulled back into ponytail, allowing view of a single fang earring. He was gesturing and pointing as he shouted directions at the people around the dome and it was the manner in which he ordered them about that caused Harry to realize who the man was as it was so similar to his mother.

"Tha's Charlie Weasley," Hagrid said to Madame Maxime. "He's the one who took my dragon off my hands for me. As a matter of fact, Norbert is one of the dragons assigned to the task. Accordin' to Charlie they plan to place the dragons around various parts of this street and have the champions make their way through to the center in order to take an egg from the center and bring it back to the starting line. They will go separately so not to encourage participation between schools."

Harry gulped thoroughly as he inspected the dragons once more and looked down the street in question. The street was narrow with many fissures and natural hiding spots within which dragons could easily be contained yet there was little to be used as cover other than a few boulders and rusted out vehicles.

Charlie came over to speak with Hagrid after a short moment but Harry barely noticed as he took the time to inspect every crevice of the street to find whatever tactical advantage he could. He was so engrossed that he nearly missed Hagrid's announcement that they were leaving until Madame Maxime's hulking figure nearly crushed him as they began walking back towards the street from whence they had come. Patting Hagrid to let him know he was still there, he grabbed onto his cloak again and the three portkeyed back to Hagrid's home.

Rushing back to the castle, Harry snuck his way through the corridors back to Gryffindor common room to find Estella and the others waiting up for him.

"We have a lot of work to do."

A/N Thanks for reading. Please, please, please REVIEW! It really means a lot to me and if not for it I would never have started back writing this story. Thanks again, hope you liked it.


	14. The First Task

A/N This was a fun chapter to write and I most definitely enjoyed writing it after receiving 2 reviews for my last chapter. A special thanks to HarryHermioneBellaSwan and femalefarrier for your reviews, those things mean a lot to writers. I hope you all enjoy it and review.

**Chapter 14: The First Task**

The morning of the First Task arrived with swarms of students filing through the Great Hall in groups of 10 to take portkeys to the location of the first task. Harry and Estella met up with the other champions to take their own portkey with Ludo Bagman, as the other judges and school heads were already there.

The two were nearly shaking with anticipation as their very nerves seemed to vibrate with the intensity. They had morphed the Room of Requirements into as close to a duplicate of the street as he could possibly envision. Once they had the room set they began learning as many spells as possible that could be used to protect them from the dragons as well as those that could be used against them. As soon as they felt properly equipped the had the room set up various booby traps such as grabbing claws and eruptions of flame to create a scenario as close to the task as possible.

Hermione's research had revealed that dragonlings could be held at bay by the Conjunctivitis Curse and that stunning spells would hold them at bay if used consistently on the same spot. Much like children, the dragonlings had short attention spans and could be easily distracted, however the closer they are to their prey the less likely they were to be distracted. The last bit of information she found was that dragons tended to be very competitive and tended to fight when amongst different species of dragons.

Despite working together to prepare, Harry and Estella had agreed to come up with their plans separately purely for entertainments sake, preferring instead to surprise one another.

Victor Krum was the last champion to arrive and he and as he entered the room Ludo Bagman boomed in a magically enhanced voice, "IS EVERYONE READY?" causing everyone to cringe and cover their ears as he smiled sheepishly before removing the voice enhancement. "Sorry about that, now is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded but Fleur who couldn't seem to hear him so he assumed she was ready as well and pulled out a book that would serve as their portkey. As they all grabbed hold they felt the tug as were picked up and whirled away to the First Task.

The first thing Harry noticed was the lack of dragonlings upon their arrival, the only trace of their existence being the massive stack of bones and the overpowering stench of dragon dung. The next difference he noticed was that the field seemed to be separated into 3 sections by 2 stone walls. The walls were only slightly taller than Harry and both had 3 sets of doors for the champions to pass through.

They didn't have long to survey the city street, however, as they soon reached the tent for the champions. Entering through the flap, they each too a seat in their assigned chairs which seemed to be arranged alphabetically by school with Fleur closest to the entrance, then Viktor, then Estella and lastly, Harry. Harry sighed in relief as he realized this was most likely the order of participation, confirmed enthusiastically by Bagman shortly afterwards.

"So here we are for the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament," he began in excitement. "The order in which you are seated is the order you will perform starting with the lovely Miss Delacour." Fleur seemed to ignore his compliment as customary and merely nodded. "Don't get too excited about being last though, Harry. By the time the dragons get to you they'll be ravenous. Not that you know about any dragons," he said conspiratorially, winking at the champions.

"Now then, you're First Task is to make your way through the city street and obtain a golden egg at the end of the course. Sounds easy enough until you add the fact that in each of those three sections there are 8 dragonlings with each section housing a different species. The dragons will be hidden until you enter the section.

"Now I'll be going out to finish the arrangements and ready the judges while each of you prepares yourselves. Professor Snape will be here to let you know when it is time. Good luck to all of you!" With that he exited through the flap and the champions were left alone.

No one spoke, seeming instead to prefer to sit in silence as they went over their individual plans mentally. Harry looked over and caught Estella's eye, giving her an encouraging smile which she returned nervously. Grabbing her hand he rubbed the back of it softly as he went over the revisions he was making to his plan.

After what felt like only seconds, Snape entered the tent and told Fleur her turn was up. She stood confidently and gracefully left the tent. The minutes seemed to be flowing through molasses rather than grains of sand and Harry began to fidget as he became restless. After what felt like ages, Snape returned and left with Viktor Krum who nodded to Harry and Estella as he followed Snape.

As soon as they were alone, Harry and Estella turned to one another and rammed their lips together, kissing passionately as though they hadn't seen one another in months. As the fire began to swell in Harry's loins he pulled away reluctantly, smiling widely at Estella.

"Looks like someone couldn't resist me," he laughed teasingly.

Estella merely shook her head and replied, "I think you're the one who couldn't resist," she said gesturing pointedly at his trousers and laughing at the blush that appeared on his features. When he tried moving about to adjust his pants she placed a finger on his chest and traced down to the seam of his trousers while looking into his eyes seductively. Toying with the waistband for a moment longer she kissed him thoroughly and pulled back.

"Maybe another time if you're a good boy," she said promisingly. "For now though you just better make sure not to get yourself killed in this tournament." As she said this she seemed to pause and look off dazedly, clearly upset about something.

"Don't worry about me," Harry said, caressing her face softly to bring her back to reality. "I promise I'll be safe if you do the same."

Estella flinched at this before answering, "I'll do my best."

Harry seemed satisfied by this and as he leaned back into his chair Snape entered the room for Estella. He rubbed her back as she stood nervously. Smiling back at him she pecked him on the cheek, causing Snape to roll his eyes and clear his throat.

Watching her leave, Harry surveyed the room and realized he was alone. His anxiety seemed to set in so deeply that the very walls seemed to be crushing in on him. As this feeling threatened to overwhelm him he took a leaf out of Hermione's book and began to think of various spells and incantations to calm himself. Rather than doing so, however he merely gave himself a headache yet the result was the same as his nerves had settled slightly.

The minutes seemed to pass by painfully slow despite his lessened anxieties until minutes seemed to drag on into hours. He had mentally rehearsed his plan dozens of times and had finally stopped, as he decided that going over it more would cause more harm than good.

Finally, to Harry's great relief and dismay, Snape entered through the flap and looked at him disdainfully. Harry stood and exited through the flap, the sun beaming into his eyes painfully. Squinting slightly he saw the stands that had been erected on top of the buildings on either side of the street. The walk to the first gate that marked the beginning of the task was over all too quickly and he soon stood before the entrance nervously with his hands sweating profusely.

Looking up at the judges to his left, he received a nod from Dumbledore and an enthusiastic wave from Ludo Bagman while the others seemed to look at him indifferently or, as in Professor Karkaroff's case, ignore him completely.

"Ready?" Ludo's voice asked him over his now appropriately enhanced voice. Harry wiped his hands on his cloak one last time before nodding and giving a thumb up. "Begin!"

At his command, the first door flung open and Harry instantly removed his cloak to reveal Muggle exercise attire below. Cat calls arose from many of the girls as they took in his improved physique and he blushed accordingly before focusing on the task at hand.

Harry entered through the gate slowly so as not to trigger any dragons yet and instantly raised his wand and leveled it at the far wall. His entire plan centered upon the inner need for chaos in every male and he only hoped it would work out well as he hadn't really come up with a backup.

When he had his wand straightened towards the wall he gripped it with his other hand and began said evenly, "Reducto Continuum."

At the sound of the spell every judge and a few upperclassmen widened their eyes in shock and let in a sharp intake of breath. Bagman was so shocked that he cursed with his voice still enhanced. "Bloody hell, he isn't serious…"

After a moment Harry's wand hummed softly, increasing in volume over time before erupting in a beam that he dragged slowly in a line across the wall before him. The beam completely obliterated the wall before him and, after penetrating the first, it took out the next one as well. Both structures crumbled down entirely and Harry dropped his arm in exhaustion, rubbing his shoulder to regain the feeling from the shock of the intensity of his spell.

As he stepped forward, the heads of the dragonlings appeared before him as they appeared from within hidden zones beneath the pavement. When they emerged they sniffed the air before turning to him, the hunger evident in their features.

Slowly, Harry pulled his foot back, thinking that perhaps his plan wasn't such a great idea after all when suddenly he heard the light roar of a dragonling behind those in front of him. At the sound, every dragonling before him turned and saw the others behind them. Screeching out their own roars, they began to stalk forward, pawing at the ground threateningly.

For a moment, all was still and then suddenly the dragons closest to Harry charged forward. The dragons in the middle found themselves facing opposition from both sides and they all attacked one another viciously.

As the battle raged, Harry moved to the side of the wall and began to move along the wall slowly towards the end of the street. Creeping along the edge of the wall, he sidled closer and closer to the egg, and to the dragonlings.

Reaching the fringe of the battle, he held his breath, as though that would keep him safer. None of the dragonlings seemed to notice him as he slid further and further into their midst yet he had several close calls nonetheless. At one point dust kicked into his eyes and he stopped, rubbing it from his eyes. A few shouts and screams from the audience caught his attention and he saw a pair of dragonlings tumbling towards him moments before they careened into the wall directly before him. Had he not stopped he almost certainly would have been hit and crushed by the sheer force of the two.

When he finally bypassed the two dragonlings he made his way further past the dragonlings and towards his final destination. Finally, after what seemed to have taken ages, Harry slid past the final dragonling. Taking a final look back and smirking slightly at his triumph, he turned and rushed towards the egg.

30 yards… 25… 20… and suddenly Harry caught sight of a blur of movement to his left side. Instinctively he crouched lower and braced himself then… BOOM. A dragonling ran into him at full speed, lifting him head over heels into the air.

Harry, realizing he was headed straight for the jagged edge of a rusted car door, threw caution to the wind and activated his Gift. Time slowed immensely as he gained a control over the flow of the perceived time around him. Casually he pulled his arms and legs closer together, albeit slowly so as not to reveal the use of his Gift to the casual onlooker. As he spun midair he reached out his right hand and, upon reaching the door, placed it on top of the window and pushed off lightly to elevate himself further. At this point he deactivated his Gift and allowed gravity to do the rest. Pulling out of his flip he landed in a crouch on the dusty ground, sliding back before coming to a halt.

The entire stadium seemed to let out a sigh of relief at his seemingly lucky landing. Harry wasted no time as he whipped his wand out and sent out a stunning charm followed up quickly by a conjunctivitis curse and a second stunning charm. The first charm caused the dragonling to pull back and allowed his conjunctivitis curse to hit it flush in the eyes before being hit by the second stunner. At this point the dragonling was thoroughly disoriented yet Harry hadn't stayed to admire his handiwork. As soon as he'd sent the second stunner he had taken off running towards the egg, tripping several times in his haste to the near dismay of the onlookers in the crowd, the majority of whom were sitting on the edge of their seats.

The last few feet were the hardest as Harry's side began to burn from the bruised rib he'd received from the dragonling yet he made it to the leg and held it above his head excitedly. The only problem was one he hadn't foreseen when he destroyed the walls. The other champions had easily been able to leave the street while the dragon trainers came in to calm the dragonlings. However, as soon as he took the egg, every dragonling turned to him and, with nothing in between them and him, had free reign to rush him.

The trainers, who would normally rush in immediately to place the dragonlings back in confinement, merely stood in confusion. By the time they realized they needed to act, it was too late. The dragonlings were upon Harry like hornets and, to the crowd, it didn't look as though he stood a chance.

Harry, on the other hand, had other plans about his safety. Remembering Dumbledore's warning, he cast a charm to protect his eyes before sending out a stream of air from his wand as the dragons neared to kick up dirt and hide his movements. As soon as the first dragonling reached the cloud of dust he sent out a jet of flame and rolled to his right. The dragonlings converged on the flame, thinking that one of their brethren had found the two-legged snack. As they realized he was not where they had assumed and began to search for their prey, Harry shot out a silver dome that converged upon the dragonlings, trapping them within the same silvery prison he had seen the night he had come with Hagrid.

Knowing that the shield would soon deplete his power as he attempted to single-handedly contain 24 dragonlings, he ran as quickly as he could to the nearest wall, drawing shouts of incredulity from the approaching dragon trainers and the crowd above as they saw him alive and well rushing out of the settling cloud of dust.

With his strength swiftly fading, Harry approached the wall slowly and heard the sound of screaming and frantic shouts. The dragonling he had confronted before had not been with the pack when he trapped them and had rushed to him seeking its revenge. At that precise moment Harry's magic faded and his spell disappeared as he collapsed to his knees in exhaustion, at the full mercy of the approaching dragonling.

Smiling ruefully at his fate, Harry merely closed his eyes and allowed the world to go black, prepared to meet his maker.

A/N You know, I'm really enjoying these cliff-hangers. They are quite amusing to write and allow me to think of various scenarios to move onto between chapters. Thank you again so much for your support and I hope you continue to read and REVIEW. Once again, a special thanks to HarryHermioneBellaSwan and femalefarrier for your reviews. Those really meant a lot to me and I hope more of you take the time to do the same. Until next time!


	15. Alive and Celebrating

A/N 23,000+ hits! Thanks a lot guys for all your support even though I'm the most annoying person to have to wait on

Disclaimer: I'm not worthy enough to be the owner of the Harry Potter series or franchise and thus I must confess that I have no claim over anything other than the new ideas I have implemented into these already amazing books.

**Chapter 15: Alive and Celebrating**

Harry's eyes opened slowly to a blinding light above him and groaned externally. '_I thought heaven would be a little easier on the eyes…'_ he thought ruefully. Eyes adjusting, he began to sit up to survey his new home but a blinding surge of pain flashed down his spine and he cried out, collapsing back down onto his cot.

"He's awake!" he heard a familiar voice shout out as he struggled to contain the pain wracking through his body. Comforting hands rubbed his shoulder and he felt a cool cloth being placed on his temple. Opening his eyes he saw Estella standing over him, concern evident in her eyes while a frowning Madam Pomfrey checked his vitals.

"You're not dead… are you?" he groaned out, slightly delirious from the pain.

Smiling lightly, Estella shook her head. "No silly, we're very much alive although you did give us a scare for a bit there."

"Mr. Potter I hope you don't plan on making a habit of visiting my ward every year with serious injuries," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, shaking her head at him.

He shook his head, chuckling until the movement sparked a minor flash of pain in his ribs. Groaning and rubbing his side, he took a few breaths before speaking. "So what's wrong with me this time?"

"Well as impressive as your containment of nearly two dozen dragonlings was, it left your magical reservoirs dangerously low. You depleted your power so swiftly that it caused you to black out. The trainers were busy containing the dragonlings when the last one rushed you but Estella managed to cast a shield on you before it hit you. The shield absorbed some, but not all of the impact and it rammed you into a wall until Professor Dumbledore came down himself to sedate it." Madam Pomfrey told the story in her usual scornful, concerned tone, although there was a hint of admiration as well.

At that moment, Dumbledore entered the room with a smile. "Ah, the Dragon Tamer awakes," he said jovially as though Harry had just taken a light nap and hadn't recently been mauled by a dragonling.

"Dragon tamer?" Harry inquired curiouslu.

"Bill Weasley has taken to referring to you as an honorable dragon tamer after your performance. That magical feat in containing the dragons left many in awe. I was enjoying a lemon drop at the time so I missed a great deal but I managed to catch a glimpse before your shield collapsed and you were nearly eaten."

Sadly, Harry believed this was highly plausible and merely shook his head at his headmaster. "So what now? Can I go back to Gryffindor tower?" he asked hopefully.

One look from Madam Pomfrey, however, crushed his hopes before she even spoke. You will remain in here until I think you are fit to leave. That you're awake already is a puzzle to me…" As she seemed to conclude her medical evaluation she pulled back her wand and looked at him in wonderment. "Mr. Potter, would you raise your arms above your head for me please? Slowly..."

Wincing in anticipation of pain, he did as he was told but to his surprise he felt only a light ache. Looking at her questioningly, he waited for her to speak.

"As I thought, it doesn't hurt does it?" At the negative shake of his head she scratched her head and began to prod him, asking if he was tender anywhere. When she finished she spoke again, "I don't understand it but your body seems to have recovered since you woke up. Perhaps it is a result of accidental magic but I don't believe that to be the case as I'm finding no magical signature."

Harry merely shrugged and asked, "So does this mean I can leave?"

"Leave it to you to confound everyone twice in as many hours and then act like nothing happened," said a familiar know-it-all as she walked in with Ron in tow."

"Blimey, Harry!" Ron exclaimed enthusiastically as he burst into the room with Hermione close behind. "You locked up those dragons like bleeding mice. Bill's been prattling on about you all day. He's worse than Ginny I tell you."

Hermione merely shook her head at Ron's outburst and turned to Harry with a stern expression to rival Madam Pomfrey. "You just better be glad you didn't get yourself killed! You know I would've gone up there and lectured you about it for eternity right?" The last part she said with a smile but the idea was no less frightening.

Harry laughed a little and shrugged, still overwhelmed with all the praise that he didn't entirely understand yet. "I still don't understand what was so magnificent about what I did in the first place. Most of the dragons were on the inside of the pack so only 9 or so were actually beating on the wall."

Hermione cleared her throat and answered him. "Harry, dragons are exceptionally magical creatures and as such they are highly resistant to most magics. That is why imprisoning dragons magically is often so hard to do because their resistances cause our magical reserves to wear down much faster. It is also the reason why dragon hide is such a valued material in the creation of magical armors.

"The dragons ramming the wall only served to wear yours down even more so. The average wizard would have depleted his magic merely attempting to trap half of those dragonlings but you managed not only to successfully procure a prison around 24 dragonlings but also to hold it there for several seconds."

Harry thought about it for a moment before attributing it to his Gift and decided he should deflect the attention from that area more in the future to prevent people questioning into the wrong areas and finding out about him as Dumbledore had warned. "Well, I suppose that makes sense. But either way, I feel fine now so can I go?" _If I'm going to change the subject, why not get something out of it too?_' he thought with an inward smile.

Pomfrey harrumphed at being able to think of no reasons for him to stay, still perplexed by his sudden healing, but finally relented, nodding ruefully. To which Harry sat up quickly before wincing reflexively. Opening his eyes, he smiled at the realization that he hadn't hurt himself doing it.

Climbing out of the bed he quickly moved off into the hallway with Estella, Ron and Hermione in tow while Dumbledore chuckled at Pomfrey's annoyance at having to let him leave. Ron decided to detail the events of the First Task as the group made its way to the common room.

"Ok so Fleur was up first and she, to be honest, was pretty good. She just walked through the first two groups of dragons using some sort of Veela charm or something and they acted like she was their mother or something. Problem was, when she got to the third group it didn't work so she ended up running around trying to find a way out. They were about to stop her match until the dragonlings from the second area made it over the wall and fought the others to protect her and she ran straight to the egg before she could get cornered again. They scratched her up a good bit so the judges counted off for that so she ended up with a 27.

"Krum was next and, of course, he tried flying. He _accioed_ his broom from somewhere and flew over the walls but when he tried to go for the egg he couldn't get to it because there were too many dragons around it. He had to jump off of his broom and did this cool trick where he put an illusion of himself on it which fooled the dragons for a second before they came for him. One nipped a good chunk out of his shoulder and another scraped up his leg before he got to the egg but it was still faster than Fleur so they gave him a 30 total.

"Now Estella wasn't as flashy as you but it was no less brilliant." At his praise she blushed and looked down shyly. "Everytime a dragonling got near her she raised up the ground in front of them and had them running into it or flying over her. She started getting tired though so she when she got towards the end she couldn't lift it as high and one of the dragonlings made it through and knocked her over. She was fast though and cursed it in the eyes, Bill thought that was brilliant too by the way, and rolled under it. The dragons were closing in on her so she used some spell that blew up the ground around her that pushed them all back but a piece of rock cut into her leg so she had to limp to the egg and another dragonling bit her arm before she blasted it back and picked up the egg. Even so, she was still the fastest of everyone and got a 33."

Harry looked over at Estella in concern for the wounds Ron had detailed but saw none and looked at her questioningly. "Pomfrey patched me up easily. My injuries weren't so bad I just lost some blood is all." She held up her arms and lifted her leg to show him as proof.

Harry kissed her arms anyway before turning back to Ron. "So what did I get? Must've been pretty low with me ending up in the hospital wing huh?"

Hermione spoke up to answer this question. "Actually Harry, the judges had to argue with Professor Karkaroff for a bit about that before they settled that that injury wouldn't be counted in your score since it happened after you'd already retrieved the egg. You got all 9's from Professor Dumbledore, Madam Maxime and Mr. Bagman and a 5 from Karkaroff making your total 32."

"Yea the old fart just gave you the 5 because he was mad Hogwarts showed up Durmstrang," Estella said in annoyance."

"Well that still puts you in first," Harry stated proudly "which calls for a celebration." He said this as they entered the common room and realized that his celebration would be unnecessary.

"GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!" was the first thunderous chant they heard as they opened the portrait followed immediately by a tremendous lion's roar that nearly knocked them from their feet. The entire common room was filled with Fred and George at the forefront holding two red/gold robes.

Harry was speechless and realized Estella was likewise lost for words when he glanced over at her. Fred stepped forward from the clapping group behind him and fell to one knee and held out the first robe to Harry and George did the same for Estella.

"We present to you this gift," Fred began.

"To the Gryffindor champions," continued George.

"May the odds be ever in your favor," the twins concluded as Harry and Estella accepted the robes warily. When Harry just looked at them suspiciously and neither of the two put on the robes George sighed in exasperation.

"You're not going to put them on are you?" he asked morosely, batting his eyes and sticking out his lower lip poutingly. When Harry and Estella just shook their heads he laughed and stood up. "Well give it to Ron then spoilsport!"

Ron, who hadn't been paying much attention as he'd been ogling a girl in the back of the group, merely donned the robe given to him absentmindedly and the effects shot up instantly. His skin grew yellow fur like a lion and his red hair grew to surround his entire head like a lion's mane. When he realized what was happening he opened his mouth to protest and a roar emerged. The common room burst into laughter which increased by Estella carefully setting hers down on a table as though it were booby trapped even further.

After the incident with the robe, Harry and Estella joined the festivities while Ron took the prank in stride and began strutting around the room producing roars and eating food like a lion, although that wasn't much different than his usual method. Hermione kept looking at Harry's egg in clear anticipation and kept looking at Harry pleadingly until he finally relented.

"So who wants to get a glimpse at what the next task is?" he asked the room enthusiastically. A roar of approval came from the room and he opened the egg for everyone to see. A melodious song emerged from the egg so beautiful that the entire room moved forward to better hear the wondrous sounds. A calm swept over the room until the egg finally shut itself off and the students emerged from their stupor.

"Well," Ron began, the lion charm having finally worn off, "that doesn't sound so bad."

"It's going to be a dance competition!" Seamus Finnigan shouted, bringing up another round of laughter.

"Yea, best Yule Ball dance gets the most points!"

Harry was about to say something when Hermione gasped and shot outside of the room mumbling about the library about to close. Shaking his head, he merely looked back at the egg for a moment before turning to Estella and gesturing quizzically to her egg in the corner. She went to pick it up and heard the same melodious music but she closed it quickly as the students began to move toward her in the same transfixed fashion.

Shrugging, she said, "I guess we have to wait and find out." Harry nodded and they all stood around the common room for a moment longer before Fred or George shot miniature fireworks into the air and the party resumed.

The party continued late into the night but Hermione turned in early, stating, as usual, that she had to get some sleep for classes and studying. Harry and Estella followed suit a little later as Estella showed concern for Harry's health, wanting to ensure that he was fully rested to regain his strength despite Pomfrey's words. Ron and the Twins continued to entertain the common room with the lion roars and fireworks until Ron coughed up a hairball and the spell began to wear off to a soft meowing that gave way to an extremely sore throat.

Despite the enthusiastic celebrations, sleep slowly crept in on the partygoers as theyfiled up to their dormitories. Lids shut instantly as heads rested uponthe soft feathered pillows yet one pair of blue eyes could not seem to find rest. Curtain closed around her bed and a silencing charm up as well she sat rigidly on her bed in fervent contemplation. Her mind whirled with possibilities, regrets and hopes that she dared not speak with any other. Tears had welled in her eyes consistently throughout the night before giving way to a bitter determination until despair overtook her yet again.

"Oh Harry," she sighed as her rigid façade fell again, fresh tears beginning to creep their way to the front. "What have I done?"

A/N Hehe, who caught the Hunger Games reference? Yes, I know I've been _sliiightly _inactive lately. But that is ok because I'm here now and that is what matters! But seriously, I am sorry for that I've just gotten distracted over the past few years with college and all but I'm managing to fix everything together to get a decent schedule on track. I hope yall like it, R/R please and I'll try to have a new one out soon.


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